Princesses, Warriors, and Queens
by Reese M
Summary: Xena's been betrayed and her road back to where she belongs is paved with good intentions and obstacles. Can she and Gabrielle find each other again in time to share life's next big adventure? Or will her new life take her down another road?
1. Chapter 1

She had every intention of sailing south to the land of the Pharaohs just like she and Xena had planned before they were called to Japa, but after making her way through the lands of the east Gabrielle felt a tug at her heart; a tug that was now leading her back to Greece. As much as she wanted to continue the adventures as if Xena were still alive, Gabrielle knew she had other responsibilities to see too. The truth of it was that Xena was dead, yes she could feel her lover's soul near her, she knew that the warm wisps of wind on her cheek was Xena, the feather touch that fluttered her hair at night was Xena, but Xena was still very much dead. The warrior princess was gone and there were people who needed to know.

As she disembarked from the ship that had brought her back to Greece, Gabrielle checked to make sure that the small urn that held Xena's ashes was still in it's leather pouch and still fastened securely to her waist near her chakram. That was still a very strange thought, her chakram. It was just another sign on the new road her life was taking. There was still a world out there that needed Xena, but since she was gone it would be Gabrielle who stepped up to fill the role as best she could.

Making her way through the town Gabrielle looked around at the familiar setting. She and Xena had passed through this port hundreds of times, and yet it felt as if she'd never set foot here before. Everything seemed to take on a strange new feeling now that she was traveling alone. Now that she was on dry land Gabrielle felt the first rumblings of hunger, but she pushed them aside for now. She needed to find the temple of Eli so she could ask if anyone knew where Eve was. She needed to tell their daughter that her mother was dead and then she wanted to take Xena home toAmphipolis.

"Excuse me," Gabrielle said softly as she walked into the temple.

The priest turned and smiled at her as he extended his hand. "Welcome traveler, how may I serve you?"

"I was hoping you'd be able to tell me where I could find Eve." Gabrielle replied as she fished a few coins out of her pouch and placed them in the offering bowl near the alter. She glanced up at the markings that stood for Eli and his beliefs and wondered if maybe he could… She stopped the thought before it was finished. Xena had refused to come back, she'd said she had to stay dead in order to keep those souls at peace. Gabrielle sighed.

The man looked at the battle worn woman for a moment before asking, "Forgive me, but may I ask why you seek the Massager?"

Gabrielle turned to look at him, a soft, sad, crooked smile on her sun kissed face. "My name is Gabrielle, I need to find her to…"

"Gabrielle?" The man repeated. "You are one of the Massager's mothers."

She couldn't help but smile as she nodded a little. It warmed her heart to know that Eve thought of her as another mother, especially given their past. They had after all tried to kill each other at one point or another. "Do you know where I can find her?"

"You just missed her." He replied. "She set out three days ago when there was no sign of your return."

"Which way did she head?" Gabrielle asked. Eve had been here looking for them? Why? Was there something wrong?

The man smiled softly, "East, down the coast."

Gabrielle nodded as she gripped the man's hand. "Thank you."

After getting some supplies and a horse Gabrielle headed east. Eve had a three day head start but she was most likely on foot. If Gabrielle traveled through the night and following day she'd be able catch up with their daughter by the following evening. As she rode through the familiar countryside, Gabrielle's mind drifted to the times she and Xena had passed along this way. She thought about the time they had to save a cluster of virgins from Darco, and about the time they'd defeated a giant using Xena's flying parchment, and the time Xena and Callisto switched bodies, and the time Xena took over Autolycus' body and how they'd brought her back from death. Again and again they'd fought off death and won, but now, now her hands were tied because Xena didn't want to come back.

Gabrielle sighed. She knew that it wasn't that Xena didn't want to come back, it was that she couldn't. Xena was doing the right thing, she knew that, it just didn't make it any easier not having her there with her. "I miss you, Xena." She whispered into the growing darkness of the night. "I miss you so much I ache."

By morning the blonde bard warrior was having trouble staying awake in the saddle. Fatigue had settled in sometime around dawn. She thought about stopping and setting up camp to get a couple of hours of sleep, but she shook off the thought and the fatigue and pushed on. She was growing more and more focused on finding Eve. She needed to be near Xena and the only way she had of doing that was to be near her daughter.

"Well, well what do we have here."

The strange male voice quickly snapped Gabrielle out of her half dozing state. In the road just ahead of her was a gang of road bandits. She groaned and rolled her eyes. She wasn't in the mood to knock heads together.

"Seems to be a pretty little lass all alone on this dangerous road."

She groaned again, ok so many she was in the mood to knock heads together. "Back off boys."

The men laughed, "Or what sweet cheeks? You gonna beat up the bad men?"

A sneer appeared on Gabrielle's face. "Something like that."

The men all laughed as they watched Gabrielle get off her horse and come towards them. They didn't see the weapons, the chakram at her side, all they saw was this little blonde woman walking calmly towards them. Their mistake. She made quick work of the group, taking out some of her anger and frustration on their hides. As the last bandit tried to run off into the woods, Gabrielle unhooked the chakram from her belt and threw it at him. The round blade beaned him in the back of the head, knocking him out cold, then bounced off a near by tree before returning to Gabrielle's waiting hand. She put it back in it's place on her belt and then climbed back onto her horse. There was the tiniest of smiles on her face as she once again set out to find Eve.

The small camp was tucked away among the trees in a small clearing. Eve had laid out her bedroll and built a small fire. She was kneeling near the fire poking at it's embers when she heard the rustle in the trees.

Gabrielle followed the distant crackling and smell of a near by fire. She listened to the silence until she was sure she'd found who she was looking for. She didn't want to bust in on some other weary travelers by mistake, but something told her that she'd finally caught up with Eve. When she stepped closer to the brush surrounding the campsite, she gasped. Eve looked so much like her mother in that moment by the fire that it was painful for the warrior bard to look at her.

"Gabrielle?" Eve called out softly as she rose to her feet.

The blonde tried to smile but it was harder then it seemed. She stepped out of the brush and moved a little closer to Eve. The two women didn't say a word. The look in Gabrielle's eyes was enough for Eve to know that the odd feeling she'd had, the one that had sent her looking for her mothers, had been true. The dark haired young woman close the distance between them and they embraced as the tears came.

When they finally let go of one another Eve took Gabrielle by the hand and lead her over to the fire. The two women sat beside each other and for a long time but said nothing as they collected themselves. Finally Eve had to ask, "How did Mother die?"

Hearing Eve say it out loud felt like a lightening bolt through her body. As Gabrielle looked into the flames she could feel more tears welling in her eyes. She told Eve about Yodoshi, about what happened in Japa, and how Xena had to stay dead in order to put all those souls to rest. Towards the end of the story her voice cracked as she choked on the emotions of it all. "It was her final act of redemption."

Eve nodded in understanding. She over anyone, even Gabrielle, understood the need to make up for the sins of the past. Again the two women sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts and memories. Finally Eve once again broke the stillness. "Do you think she's with Solon and the others?"

Gabrielle really hadn't thought about it. Xena was still Greek, she still believed in the Greek Gods, she would go to the Elysian fields wouldn't she? "I hope so." She finally replied. "I really hope so."


	2. Chapter 2

Amphipolis hadn't changed much since the last time she'd been there. It still wasn't nearly as populated as it had been when Xena was young, or even when they'd returned all those times to visit Cyrene. As she and Eve headed towards the tavern that still belonged to Xena's family, Gabrielle's mind drifted once again to her memories. She'd felt so blessed to see Xena and her mother reconnect. Cyrene had been a good woman, stubborn like her daughter, but strong and loving too, again just like her daughter. The warrior bard liked Cyrene so much she kept over looking the elder woman's need to fix Xena up, especially after she'd gotten pregnant with Eve.

"Did Grandmother really try to get Mother to marry Ares?" Eve asked as they approached the old tavern.

Gabrielle laughed as she nodded, "She thought Xena needed a man and you needed a father. She was a bit old fashion."

"Didn't she released you and Mother were together?" The dark haired young woman asked.

A sad, yet bright smile played at Gabrielle's lips. "Most people didn't realize just where our relationship stood."

Eve stopped walking so she could look at her mother's soul mate and blinked. The first time she'd seen them together, when she was still Livia, she could see it. The kind of love that Xena and Gabrielle shared was deep and eternal, how could anyone miss that?

The look on Eve's face was priceless and it made Gabrielle laugh. "It's not like we broadcast it, Eve. You know how Xena was, she was a very private person."

"Yeah, but still." Eve said as she started walking at Gabrielle's side again. "Was the whole world blind?"

"Not the whole world, just a select few." The blonde replied as she pushed open the door of the tavern. Even after they'd set Cyrene's spirit free to rest in peace no one from the town wanted to run the tavern, it still spooked most folks, so Xena had written to Meg. In turn Meg had sent her and Joxer's second son, Aeneas.

Aeneas looked very much like his father. His hair was a short shaggy brown mess, his eyes a shade or two lighter then his hair but with a bright sparkle to them. When the outside light flooded the room when the door was opened he looked up from setting a bowl of stew down in front of a patron and smiled when he saw who had walked in. When he saw who walk in after Gabrielle his smile faulted a little.

"Maybe I should wait outside." Eve said softly after seeing the look on the young man's face.

Gabrielle grabbed her hand to keep Eve at her side. "Don't be silly. This is your home. Actually, since your mother's…" She couldn't say it, not out in the open where people could hear. "You own the place now."

Eve blinked. "I do?"

The blonde nodded but didn't say anything else since Aeneas was approaching them.

"Gabrielle!" Aeneas hugged his father's oldest and dearest friend. "It's good to see you again." He stepped back and smiled, "You and Xena come by to check up on things?"

The blonde warrior bard shook her head. "No, Aeneas. We're here for personal reasons. Is there someplace we can talk privately?"

The look in Gabrielle's eyes made Aeneas look at Eve. There was a sadness in both sets of normally bright blue eyes that instantly made him somber. "Of course, upstairs, I'll get our best room ready for you."

Gabrielle and Eve followed the young man upstairs and into the large room that she and Xena had shared so many times. Gabrielle had a hard time crossing the threshold so she just stood there taking the room in. She could almost see Xena standing by the window looking out over the country side, the early morning sun casting a warm glow all around her body. The blonde took a shuttering breath.

Eve put a hand on her second mother's shoulder and squeezed, "Gabrielle?"

"I'm fine." The older woman replied after clearing her throat. She took a deep breath and then finally walked into the room. "You don't have to fuss Aeneas."

"Sure I do." The young man replied. "I bet your hungry, probably tired too. I'll have food and hot water for a bath sent up. Should I keep an eye out for Xena?"

Gabrielle swallowed hard as she went to stand near Xena's window. "No," Gabrielle said softly as she looked out the window. "She won't be coming."

"Oh?" Aeneas asked knowing he wouldn't like the answer that was coming.

"Xena's dead, Aeneas." Gabrielle said without looking at him. Every time she said it she could feel a knot in her stomach that forced acid into her throat which burned nearly as badly as the unshed tears in her eyes.

The young man's face fell. "Oh Gods, Gabrielle, I'm so sorry. She'll come back though, right? I mean, you and she, you always come back."

Gabrielle shook her head. "Not this time. This time it's for good."

The sun was setting behind her as Gabrielle walked into Xena's family crept. It gave the stone room an almost warm welcoming feel. Both of Xena's brothers and her mother rested here, and there was even a marker for Solon. This wasn't the first time she'd brought Xena home like this, but it would be the last. She carried the small urn holding her lover's ashes over to a niche carved into the stone wall near Solon's marker. As she held the urn in both hands her mind flashed back to the first time she'd heard Xena sing the burial song she always sung when they'd been touched by death. Closing her eyes she could hear the timber and slight tremors in that other wise husky voice. "I can't make the memories stop, Xena. Everywhere I go, everything I do, it brings something back to me. I know that's not a bad thing, I don't ever want to forget, but it just makes me realize we should have more time to make more memories. It makes it hard not to look for a way to bring you back."

Reaching out Gabrielle placed the urn in the niche and adjusted it a bit so it sat perfectly. To much time had passed since Xena's death. Even if she could go against her soul mate's wishes, it was to late to bring her back. There was really nothing left for her to do but accept it and move on. "I love you Xena. I'll always love you."

For a moment Gabrielle could almost hear Xena's reply. She knew how much the other woman had loved her, still loved her, and she knew that they wouldn't be separated forever. Their souls were bound together and they were destined to meet again in the next life. It's just that she still had this one to finish out first.

It was completely dark when Gabrielle headed back towards the tavern. Stepping into the fire lit main room she looked for Eve and when she didn't see her headed for their room. She wanted to thank the girl for giving her time alone with Xena to say goodbye, but she wasn't in their room either so she headed back to the main room. "Aeneas, have you seen Eve?"

The young man shook his head. "Not since you left."

Gabrielle sighed, "Where could she have gone?"

"She was reading one of your scrolls earlier, kind of had tears in her eyes." He offered. He didn't like Eve, she killed his father and it really didn't matter to him what name she was using at the time, but he wasn't heartless. He could see that losing her mother was really hurting her, so he was cutting her some slack.

"I should have let her come with me." Gabrielle sighed.

Aeneas shook his head again. "You both need to deal in your own ways. She's a lot like Xena, isn't she? I bet she wanted to be alone."

A lot like Xena, she thought and then patted the young man's hand with a soft smile. "Thanks Aeneas, I think I know where to find her."

The only light came from the half moon that hung over the lake. Eve sat on a log near the bank just staring out over the calm water. The scroll she'd been reading had been about the time her mother had been obsessed with fishing and knowing how much her mother loved the water, it seemed only natural that this would be the place she felt the closest to her.

"You shouldn't be out here in the dark." Gabrielle said as she came out of the trees. She walked down to where Eve was and sat beside her on the log.

"It wasn't dark when I came down here." Eve replied without turning to look at the other woman.

Gabrielle smiled softly, "But it is now and you could have ended up getting lost."

That made Eve snort. "Just because I've become the massager doesn't mean I've forgotten all my other skills. I can find my way in the dark. I can even tangle with killer rabbits."

That made the blonde laugh. It felt good to laugh and smile, though moments later she always felt bad over it. What right did she have to laugh and smile when she was mourning the loss of her own heart? "So you were reading my scrolls again, huh?"

Eve nodded, "Aeneas had a couple I hadn't read before and since he's feeling sorry for me because my mother's dead he's not openly hating me at the moment."

"Eve…"

"It's alright, sometimes forgiveness takes awhile and sometimes it never comes." The younger woman replied before Gabrielle could say anything. "I did kill his father."

"Livia killed his father." Gabrielle corrected.

Eve nodded, "Changing my name didn't erase my past, Gabrielle."

"You really are a lot like your mother." The blonde warrior bard said as she turned to look at Eve. "Always looking for redemption."

"Do you hate her for what she choose to do?" Eve asked as she finally turned her head to look at Gabrielle.

Gabrielle shook her head before turning to look out over the lake. "I did at first, when she stopped me from putting her ashes into the water. It was a fleeting moment though, because I knew deep down it was the right thing to do." She sighed then. "I still feel angry sometimes though. Angry that she choose them over me, that she wouldn't come back to me, but I know she would have if she could have."

"I should have spent more time with her, gotten to really know her, to really be with her." Eve said sadly. "I regret that, that I didn't travel with you both more."

"Don't, Eve, don't hold onto regrets, they'll just eat at you." Gabrielle said as she put an arm around the younger woman's shoulders. "Hold onto the moments you had with her, keep those memories close."

Eve leaned into Gabrielle as they looked out over the water. They simply sat there for awhile before she asked, "Is this the lake she and Lyceus use to go to when they went fishing?"

Gabrielle nodded. "Xena loved the water."

"Me too." Eve said softly. "When I was little I use to sneak away and go down to the river and just sit there for hours. Never knew why I always found it so calming."

"Because of your mother." Gabrielle replied.

"What do I get from you?" Eve asked as she lifted her head up so she could look at Gabrielle.

Blue eyes took in eyes the same soft crystal blue as Xena's. Gabrielle smiled as she tucked a lock of dark hair behind Eve's ear and then laughed when the young girl's stomach growled. "My appetite." She teased and then got to her feet. She held her hand out for Eve and added, "Come on lets go raid the kitchen."


	3. Chapter 3

There was a map laid out on the table and Gabrielle studied it carefully as she dipped a piece of lamb into a pot of grape jam. She used her free hand to trace a route from Greece to Egypt and then from Egypt to Britannia. She and Eve had been in Amphipolis for about a week and even though Gabrielle felt a little more at peace because she felt close to Xena here, she was starting to get itchy feet. It was nearly time to head off again. Picking up a piece of eel she dipped it into the jam and then looked up at Eve.

"Are you sure you want to come with me?" She asked before sucking the jam off the eel and then eating the eel it's self. "This trip's going to last for months."

Eve tried not to look to grossed out. Over the last week she'd watch Gabrielle's normally huge appetite turn rather strange. "Yes, I'm sure. Being with you is what's import to me now, besides I can be Eli's Messenger anywhere."

Gabrielle smiled warmly at the girl. She had to admit she was looking forward to really getting to know Eve. "I thought we'd head to Egypt first, and then Britannia, Xena had friends there once." She paused to look up at Eve, an octopus leg held between her thumb and forefinger. "Are you going to be alright in Egypt since it's Octavius that's causing all the trouble?"

"He wouldn't have the power to cause so much trouble in Egypt if it weren't for me." Eve replied as she tried not to look at the wiggly thing Gabrielle was planning on eating. "So it's only right that I try and help any way I can."

"Are you sure?" Gabrielle asked again.

Eve groaned, "I'll be fine, Mom, I swear."

Both women paused when they realized what Eve had just called Gabrielle. Eve held her breath waiting for a reaction and Gabrielle waited for the girl to take it back in some way. When she didn't Gabrielle smiled brightly. "Alright, Eve, but I hold the right to be overprotective."

"You're going to make up for all those times Mother was overprotective with you aren't you?" Eve teased and then cringed when Gabrielle dipped a snail into a bowl of cheese curds.

"Yeap," Gabrielle replied brightly before popping the snail into her mouth.

Eve groaned and made a grossed out face that she just couldn't hold back anymore.

Gabrielle looked confused. "What?"

"I know you've always had a healthily apatite and that you love food and everything, but I had no idea you liked such…" She paused to think of a word but couldn't come up with anything but, "unique dishes."

Gabrielle blinked as she looked down at the assorted plates and bowls. Jam, cheese curds, lamb and a mix of sea foods didn't seem strange until you realized she was mixing it all together. She stared at a cheese covered bit of lamb she held in her fingers and then shrugged, "I don't normally eat like this. I do kind of over indulge after a sea voyage because I don't eat much on a ship, but I haven't eaten like this since…."

Eve watched as all the color drained from Gabrielle's face. She really became alarmed when the blonde's hand started to shake as she put the piece of meat down on a plate. "Mom? Hey, you ok? You look like your going to be…"

Before Eve could finish her sentence Gabrielle was out of her seat and running out the door. It wasn't the food she'd been eating that suddenly made her sick at her stomach, it was the memory that came flooding back. Leaning against the well near the stables, Gabrielle pulled up a bucket of cold water that she used to splash her face. It was impossible, there was no way there could be anything to the thoughts she was having.

Crystal blue eyes full of concern searched the yard until they spotted Gabrielle over by the well. Eve went over to her mother and put her arm around the older woman's shoulder. "Mom, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Eve." Gabrielle lied.

"You don't look fine." The girl replied before going over to a clothes line and taking down a clean rag. She came back and dipped the cloth into the water then rung it out before placing it on Gabrielle's neck. "You're pale and shaking. Was it the octopus? Aeneas told you it wasn't common around here and out of season too."

The blonde warrior bard shook her head. "It's not what I was eating, it's why I was eating it, but that's impossible."

"What is?" Eve asked as she helped Gabrielle sit on the stone step of the well.

"The last time I ate like that," Gabrielle said in a soft hollow voice that trembled with the memory. "I was pregnant with Hope."

Eve opened her mouth to say something but then realized she had no idea what to say, so she sank down beside the older woman. She watched the emotion pass behind Gabrielle's eyes and bit her lip waiting for the other woman to say something.

"It's impossible, it has to be stress, or grief, or something like that." Gabrielle said as she put her head in her hands. She was feeling a little dizzy, and not for the first time either. She groaned, dizziness, fatigue, weird taste in food, it did add up didn't it?

"Do you think you could be pregnant now?" Eve asked very carefully as she watched Gabrielle closely.

Gabrielle shook her head. "It's impossible, Eve. I haven't been with anyone but Xena since before you were born."

Eve couldn't hold back the soft smirk, "What's that have to do with it?"

Gabrielle looked up and blinked at the younger woman. "You do know where babies come from don't you?"

The dark haired girl laughed, "Yes, but since when did that factor in when it comes to you and Mother?" Eve could see the confusion wash over Gabrielle's face, and then the flicker of something behind her eyes. "It wouldn't be the first time you and Mother created the impossible through the sheer power of your love for each other." She smiled brightly as she added, "I don't have a father, I have two mothers."

"But.. But Eli, Callisto, they did that when they resurrected us." Gabrielle said softly as she looked into Xena's eyes. Xena's eyes, her raven hair, her height, her smile; but the smatter of freckles, the thinner toned frame, the utter loathing of mornings, those were traits from her, not Xena, weren't they? Could they have done it again? But how? She hadn't felt Eli's presence, there was no resurrection, or other worldly manipulation. There was no explanation for another miraculous conception, was there?

"Maybe you should go and see the healer before you get to lost in the thoughts." Eve offered after several silent moments. "No sense in getting upset if it's just the octopus."

Gabrielle nodded, but didn't say anything. The thought of carrying Xena's child both scared and excited her. She sat there until her thoughts were so out of control she felt sick again. "I'm going for a walk. I'll be back before dark."

Eve couldn't do anything but sit there and watch Gabrielle walk off. Once the blonde warrior bard was out of sight she sighed and looked skyward. "She really needs you Mother."


	4. Chapter 4

Standing near the water's edge Gabrielle looked out over the lake. The early morning air caused the light wrap she had on over her shoulder to dance and flutter. She couldn't tear her mind away from what the healer had said the day before. He had confirmed it, she was pregnant, but she still had no idea how she'd gotten that way. Her mind played her memories over and over again looking for something, anything that would explain how she'd gotten this way. So far there were two possibilities, one she wanted to be true more then anything and the other scared her down to her core. There had been a moment just after she'd kissed Xena with the fountain water on her lips that it felt as if Xena's spirit had passed through her body; that was the one she was hoping to be true. The other possibility was the blast of energy by Yodoshi; it wouldn't be the first time she'd gotten pregnant through a fire ball.

Stripping off her clothes Gabrielle eased into the water. It was surprisingly warm so she submerged herself, letting the water swirl around her until her lungs burned for air. When she finally broke the surface she gasped for air.

"Hey Gabby!"

Gabrielle turned back towards the bank to see Aphrodite sitting on the same log she and Eve had shared the week before. She frowned at the pink wearing blonde goddess, what the hell was she so happy about? "What do you want?"

Aphrodite pouted. "Nice to see you too." She scanned the water waiting for the second figure to emerge but then looked back at Gabrielle. "Did I interrupt something juicy? Should I leave so Xena doesn't drown?"

She didn't know? How the hell did she not known, she was a goddess.

"What?" The blonde goddess asked as she caught the look she was getting.

"Xena's dead, Aphrodite." Gabrielle said bluntly as she made her way out of the water. She walked over to the towel she'd left near her clothes and dried off.

"What?" Aphrodite looked confused and even a little sad. "No way, she can't be, for real?

Gabrielle nodded.

Wow, the goddess thought as she blinked in surprise.

"You didn't know?" Gabrielle asked as she stared at the look on her friend's face. She really shouldn't be that surprised.

Tight blonde curls bounced as Aphrodite shook her head. "I had no idea. I've been away, girls weekend with the Valkyries, man do those Norse babes know how to party."

Gabrielle rolled her eyes as she got dressed. There really wasn't any point in acting shy around the goddess of love, especially after all the trouble they'd managed to get into together. At one point Xena has even teasingly told Gabrielle she wasn't allowed to play with the goddess anymore cause she was tired of saving their butts. "So you wouldn't know if she were in the Elysian fields?"

"Not without checking." Aphrodite replied. "Big brother's taken over management of the underworld. Totally hate what he's done to the place, all dark and creepy."

"It's the underworld Aphrodite, it's meant to be dark and creepy." The blonde warrior bard replied.

There was a worried tightness around her friend's eyes that made Aphrodite get up and go over to her. She put an arm around her and gave her a one armed hug. "I'm sure she's there with her kid. I'll check if you'd like."

Gabrielle nodded, "Thanks."

"Anytime," The blonde goddess replied. "But why hasn't she come back? Why aren't you on some quest to bring her back? Isn't that what the two of you do?"

She sighed again. Gabrielle knew that she'd have to explain this over and over, but she was sick of it already. She went into the story yet again and then explained that Xena had to stay dead this time in order for those souls to be at rest.

Aphrodite blinked. "So let me get this straight, she died so she could take on an evil entity that was sucking up dying souls and trapping them. She could only kill it as a spirit herself so she took on an army by herself, which she'd done before and won, only this time she ended up dead. She killed the big bad, set the souls free, and then wouldn't let you bring her back cause she said she had to stay dead so they could be at peace?"

Gabrielle nodded. "That's about it."

Aphrodite huffed at that. She thought it over for a moment then opened her mouth to ask something else but was cut off by Gabrielle asking a question of her own.

"Aphrodite, I need to see Xena, I need to talk to her." Gabrielle said as she looked at the goddess with the frowned brow. "I need to ask her something, it's important, can you take me to the Elysian fields?"

"You're not dead." She replied to her friend. "But I guess I could, why?"

"Because." Gabrielle replied.

Aphrodite crossed her arms and looked at the warrior bard with concern. "You aren't thinking of offing yourself to be with her are you? Cause I think that might be a little short sighted because I don't think…."

"I don't care what you think," Gabrielle cut in. "I need to talk to Xena, I need to know if she knows about the baby."

That shut the chatty goddess up really quick. She looked long and hard at her friend and then her eyes went wide. "Oh me." She looked Gabrielle over again and smiled, "I thought you were looking a little extra curvy."

Gabrielle blinked and looked down at herself. She wasn't showing or anything but her breasts maybe looked a little bigger and maybe she had a little more fat on her toned frame then she did a month ago. Looking up she glared at the goddess and huffed.

Aphrodite laughed, "If you two keep doing that you're going to give men a terrible complex."

"It's not something we were trying for." Gabrielle huffed again.

"Could have fooled me." The other blonde teased. "You two could go at it like rabbits."

Gabrielle gave her friend the best Xena like death glare she could manage. "Will you take me to her?"

With a more somber face the goddess nodded. "If I can I will, but I have to ask. Are you really going to ask if she knows how that happened, or are you going to ask her to come back because it did?"

"Don't you think she should know?" Gabrielle asked as she came over to sit next to her friend. Of all the people to be sharing with she was baring her soul to the ultimate party girl, but in a way it felt right. For all her faults Aphrodite was a good friend.

"Do you think it would really make a difference?" Aphrodite asked carefully.

Gabrielle sighed, "I don't know. I'd like to think so, but… I'm just not sure" The blonde warrior bard sighed as she put her head in her hands. "It's just, I could have bared being without her when it was just me, but now it's not just me." She grew silent for awhile before finally looking up. "I'm scared." She sighed again. "We haven't had the best of luck with babies and children; Solon, Hope, Eve, we're pretty much zero for three."

"I don't know, the little god killer seems like a good egg, despite the whole little god killer thing." Aphrodite replied and then held her hands up and leaned away from Gabrielle when the shorter blonde gave her an even harder death glare. "Sorry."

"Don't ever call her that again." Gabrielle warned.

"Hey I said I was sorry." The blonde goddess said with a huff and then sighed. She put a hand on Gabrielle's shoulder and looked her in the eyes. "Look, no matter what happens with tall dark and ass kicking gorgeous, you're not alone Gabby. You got Eve," She paused and smiled, "And Auntie Aphrodite'll be glad to hang around and keep an eye on the little tyke."

Gabrielle smiled softly, "You'd watch out for my baby?"

"Sure!" Aphrodite replied brightly. "Just don't expect me to do gross stuff, and whatever you do don't name it Xena Junior or something corny like that."

Gabrielle's smile grew a little brighter. "I'll keep that in mind."


	5. Chapter 5

Aphrodite appeared in the Elysian fields in a shower of pink glitter, hearts and flower petals. She needed to find Xena for Gabrielle and she figured the best place to start was where the warrior should have been. The problem was that the blonde goddess didn't think she'd find Xena here. Something about the story Gabrielle had told her just wasn't sitting right with her. If she were as smart as Athena, or Hera or even Artemis she'd probably know what it was that felt off about it, but she was who she was which meant if she were going to come through for her bestest girl friends, she'd have to put a little work into it.

The sound of children laughing is what drew Aphrodite's attention. She smiled sweetly as she sashayed towards the sound. Once she'd come into view of the clearing she looked for who she'd come to speak with and smiled when she spotted him. He was a handsome boy with blonde hair, slightly tanned skin and his mother's blue eyes. "Solon."

The boy stopped playing and looking up. He was more then a little surprised to see a goddess standing there and even more surprised when she called out his name. He walked towards her when she crooked her finger at him and then titled his head to the side in the same questioning way Xena did when he was standing in front of her. "Yes?"

"Solon, I was wondering, have you seen your mother lately?" Aphrodite asked as she looked down into sparkling blue eyes. Solon didn't know he was dead, that was the point of the fields to allow the dead to rest peacefully while they waited on their loved ones, to him Xena would just be traveling.

Solon shook his head. "No, Mother and Gabrielle are still on the road with Evey."

Aphrodite bit the inside of her cheek as she thought for a moment. If Xena had been here at all the first person she'd have found would have been her son. "I thought for sure she'd have come by this way by now."

Solon shook his head. "Not yet, but she and Gabrielle and Evey will be home soon."

She smiled down at the boy as she put a hand on his shoulder. "Would you do me a favor, Solon? When your mother does come home will you call out for me? I really really need to talk to her."

The boy smiled, "Sure, I can do that."

"Thanks kiddo." The goddess beamed at him and stepped back. "Gotta jet for now though, just remember to call for me as soon as you see her, ok?"

After seeing Solon nod she snapped her fingers and disappeared in that same sparkly light of hers. So Xena's spirit hadn't returned to the Greek underworld like it should have, which meant it had to be stuck somewhere, but where? When the goddess of love reappeared she was standing in a vast marble hall soaking in warm sunlight, it was the size of three Greek city-states and every wall, practically every surface was adorned with books and scrolls and tablets of every kind; it was Athena's library. "Wow," The blonde goddess breathed out in awe. She'd never been in here before, she wasn't allowed, Athena had always been afraid she'd break something. "So lets see what the ultimate nerd had on Japa."

"Are you sure you should be traveling?" Eve asked as she helped Gabrielle load up their horses. Aeneas had managed to track down Argo II at the stabled that her mother had left her in. The mare seemed a little uneasy, probably because she sensed that Xena was gone, but Gabrielle was doing her best to calm the animal.

"We traveled the whole time Xena was pregnant with you." Gabrielle reminded the younger woman as she stroked Argo's nose, her voice low and calming as she looked over at Eve.

Eve smiled a little and gave a slight nod, "Then we're ready to go."

"No luck in talking her into staying here huh?" Aeneas said as he came out of the tavern with wrapped food for the rode.

The young raven haired woman shook her head. "My mothers are not the type to grow roots in one place. It was a waste of breath."

Aeneas laughed, "I figured, but at least you tried."

Gabrielle huffed at them and the settled the bundle of food in one of her packs. Then she shook her head and smiled as she took Aeneas hand and gripped it firmly in her own. "Thanks for everything, Aeneas."

"Don't be silly Gabrielle, this is your home I'm just looking after it for you." The young man replied. "You and Eve are welcome here anytime and I fully expect you to come back so I can meet the newest member of the family."

"Then we'll see you soon." Gabrielle hugged the young man and then nodded to Eve that she was ready.

Eve and Aeneas simply nodded at each other and then she got up on the mare that Gabrielle had come in on. She drew up to Gabrielle's side and then they took off down the dirt road. Their trip to Egypt had been put off, at least Gabrielle had agreed that long sea voyagers might not be the best thing for her given her dislike of ships, so they were heading south towards the last known whereabouts of the Amazons. They traveled in relative silence until they were clear of the village, that's when Eve looked over at Gabrielle and saw the unshed tears. "Mom?"

"I'm alright." Gabrielle said softly as she glanced over her shoulder and then at Eve. "It's just hard to leave her behind is all."

Eve nodded. "Any word from Aphrodite?"

Gabrielle shook her head. "She probably got distracted by a mirror or shiny object." It sounded harsh but it was really just blowing off steam. She knew that if Aphrodite said she'd help, she would. The goddess might be self absorbed and flaky, but when it all boiled down, she had a good heart. "She'll show up."

"What will you say if she takes you to see Mother?" The young woman asked carefully. She didn't want to upset Gabrielle, but she wanted to offer to be there for her when she needed to talk. Problem was that the normally chatty woman hadn't been saying much at all over the last few days.

"I don't know." Gabrielle answered honestly. "I want to tell her about the baby."

Eve nodded, "Do you think she'd come back if she knew?"

Gabrielle shrugged. "Even if she wanted to I don't think she can." She paused for a moment and then sighed. "Do you think I'm being selfish?"

"What?" Eve asked, a little taken aback at the question.

"For wanting to see her, for wanting to tell her something that could very well force her to chance her mind about staying dead." Gabrielle said softly as she looked over at Eve.

Eve thought about it and then shook her head. "You miss her and your about to go through something pretty amazing and you want her with you to share in it. It's not selfish, it's human."

Gabrielle looked into Eve's eyes for a long moment and then smiled softly before turning her attention back to the road. Maybe she'd go to Xena, or maybe she'd feel more at peace just knowing Xena was at rest with Solon, her mother, and her brothers.


	6. Chapter 6

Yomi, according to Athena's texts, was Japa's version of Hades. The big difference was that it didn't have two sides like Hades had, there weren't any Elysian fields, there was no Tartarus, it was just all darkness and decay. It was really creeping Aphrodite out. It was so dark that she wouldn't have been able to see her hand in front of her face if not for her godly glow. As she made her way through the darkness the blonde goddess watched the faces of the dead caught in her glow, they were all in various forms of decay and looked miserable. According to what she'd read, when someone died in Japa, no matter the manner of their death be it heroic or evil, they all came to the same fate. It actually made her sad to think about it and added to her drive to find her friend.

"What brings you to my realm, Olympian."

Aphrodite looked up to see where the voice had come from, what she found made her nearly gag. The woman was decayed to the point that her face was covered in maggots and small rodents nested in her hair. Say what you will about the Greek underworld, at least Hades had been a good looking man. "I'm looking for a lost soul."

Izanami, the goddess of creation and death, tilted her head to the side as she stared with empty eyes at the Olympian. "This is Yomi, not Hades, are you lost yourself?"

"No," The blonde huffed. "The warrior woman I seek was killed in Japa and her spirit never made it back to our realm. I think she's being held here."

"A Greek soul would have returned to your realm upon release." Izanami said in a very defensive way.

Aphrodite sighed, "Not if she thought she had to stay here in order to put others at peace."

A maggot covered brow raised as the Kami goddess came closer to the Olympian. "Are you calling me a liar?"

"No," Aphrodite replied. She really wished the other goddess wouldn't come any closer. She was already weakened from crossing realms and she wasn't sure she could keep her ambrosia down if the woman came closer. "But I think Xena's been lied to."

"Xena?" Izanami repeated. "She is a noble warrior known in the realms of not only Greece and Japa but throughout the four corners. She would have been released to your paradise of the dead upon her spirit's release."

Blonde curls danced as Aphrodite shook her head. "Never made it."

Izanami frowned. "She is not here." She said and then pause a moment. Her head tilted again, "Perhaps she is in Diyu."

"She died in Japa, not Chin." The blonde replied. "She died killing some bad soul stealer named Yodoshi."

"Yes, I know." The goddess of death replied. "She sent to me forty thousand souls who were finally able to find eternal rest."

Aphrodite looked around quickly and bit back the smart remark about resting here for all eternally. "She was told that in order to keep those souls at peace she had to stay dead."

Izanami simply looked at the other goddess for awhile and then held out her hand, "Come, I believe we have much to speak of."

Limbo was, it seemed, limbo anywhere. A huge empty space literally in the middle of nowhere. The landscape in limbo could be made to appear as anything, it all depended on the mindset of the person stuck there. In Xena's case it was a snowy mountain range with punishing winds and blinding snow. Aphrodite laughed, it was moody just like Xena. The blonde peered through the blowing snow, scanning the cliffs until she spotted a lone figure in the distance. She smiled.

"Xena!"

Xena actually jumped. Spinning around she saw Aphrodite coming towards her and blinked. Closing her eyes she rubbed them as if she were rubbing away an illusion, but when she opened them the blonde goddess was standing in front of her with her hands on her hips. "Aphrodite?"

"Do you have any idea how long it took me to find you?" The blonde goddess huffed. She wagged a finger at Xena and then poked her in the chest. "And how hard it was to get here? I'm exhausted!"

The tall raven haired warrior blinked again. "What are you doing here?"

"I've come to take you home." Aphrodite said brightly, her eyes sparklingly and her voice laced with a giggle. "Gabby really needs you back."

Xena's heart broke at the mention of Gabrielle. It had been so easy to stay with her as a spirit while she was near Japa, but the further west she went the harder it was for Xena to be with her. Finally she had no choice but to retreat here and try to be there for Gabrielle in her thoughts and dreams. "I can't, Aphrodite. I made a choice, I have to stay here so that…."

"The forty thousand souls can be at peace, yadayadayada." Aphrodite said as she flipped her hand in the air. As she looked into Xena's eyes her hands went back to her hips. "Sister friend, I hate to tell you this cause it really was a noble sacrifice, but you've been lied too."

"What?" Xena asked, her voice low and edged with cold.

Aphrodite nodded, "Sacrificing yourself to kill that Yoshi dude…"

"Yodoshi." Xena corrected.

"Yeah, that's what I said." The blonde replied with a roll of her eyes. She knew the proper name, she knew more then she bet Xena would have given her credit for, but it was fun to pull the warrior woman's chain. "Anyway, killing him and setting the souls free was enough to wipe your slate clean when it came to gods around here."

"How do you know that?" Xena asked. She wanted to believe the blonde, but she was having a hard time thinking about why Akemi would lie about something like this. She'd told her that the only way to keep the souls she'd killed at peace was to stay dead too.

"That's another thing you owe me for." Aphrodite shivered. "Have you ever had lunch with someone who's skin is rotting? It was all I could do not to throw up all over her."

Xena looked carefully Aphrodite. "Who?"

"Izanami." The other woman replied.

"You talked to the Kami goddess of death?" Xena asked, surprise laced her voice and she didn't even try to hide it.

"Well yeah," Aphrodite huffed. "I've been looking for you everywhere. Well, except for that one God's place, we pantheon gods can't go in there unless we agree to follow his rules and then we get turned into saints or something and loose out powers and self identities. Anyway, my point is I talked to the boss lady here and she said that you don't have to stay dead."

"But the souls…."

"Are already with her and are at peace, if you call that at peace, it's not like home I'll tell you that much." The blonde cut in. "She said that if you'd killed them on purpose then it would be another matter all together, but the fire was an accident."

Xena huffed and turned back to the vast view of more mountains and snow. "I wouldn't call killing forty thousand people an accident."

"You were trying to do what you thought was right when you tried to put Akemi's ashes in her family's crept. You acted and reacted to being stopped with a grieving heart and clouded mind." Aphrodite recapped before explaining, "The gods here aren't holding you accountable for that."

"But Akemi said…"

"Akemi lied." Aphrodite cut in.

Xena turned to face the blonde again and looked at her carefully, their eyes meeting and neither willing to look away. Xena knew Aphrodite was telling her the truth, but she still didn't understand it.

After several moments Aphrodite finally broke the silence that had grown between them. "Look, I know your confused and have every right to be, but the simple fact is that you don't have to stay dead and Gabrielle needs you."

The sound of her lover's name brought Xena back to her senses. "Is she alright?"

"She needs you." The blonde repeated. "Which means we need to get you out of here."

"It's to late, Aphrodite. I've been dead to long." Xena replied.

Aphrodite smiled, "Trust me, I can get you back to your lover girl but you'll have to get yourself back to the right realm. Crossing underworlds isn't easy even for the strongest of gods, so I can't take you. So you worry about getting to Hades and I'll worry about getting you back to life. Deal?"

She had some things to do here first, but there was no hesitation as she replied, "How do I get there?"

"You'll just know." The goddess said with a bright smile. "You should have come over as soon as you died, but your guilt kept you tied here. You'll be able to find your way now."

Xena nodded and for the first time since leaving Gabrielle on the ship, she smiled.


	7. Chapter 7

Once she was alone Xena looked out over the vast nothingness and closed her eyes. Her emotions were storming inside. She could see Gabrielle again, they could be together again, she'd be able to see Eve and have her life back, but she'd been lied too, betrayed, hurt. She let out a frustrated yell before opening her eyes and screaming Akemi's name as loud as she could.

"Xena?" Akemi said softly when she appeared. "What's the matter?"

Xena turned to look at the girl. She looked just the way she had the day they'd met and something in Xena's mind whirled. Akemi looked just like she did when she'd loved her, why? "You lied to me."

Akemi blinked and then began to shake her head as she moved closer to Xena. "No, I would never lie to you Xena."

"You told me I had to stay dead, that I had to give up my life, my heart, my soul, in order for the others to be at piece." Xena replied as she looked down at the girl. "Why, Akemi, why did you lie to me?"

"I didn't!" Akemi replied as she reached for Xena, but Xena stepped away from her. She panicked. "Xena please, I didn't…"

The fear in Akemi's eyes is what gave her away and Xena wasn't sure if she felt sorry for the girl or not, her anger and hurt were still to strong. "Why didn't you go to Yomi with the other souls?"

"I..I.." She muttered and then hung her head. The girl sighed, "Killing my father was a worse sin then anything he'd ever done as far as our beliefs are concerned." Tears welled in Akemi's eyes as she looked up to met Xena's. "I didn't want to be alone here, Xena, and you love…"

"I did love you." Xena replied, her voice surprising soft. "That's why I believed you, why I let you take me away from my life, away from…"

"Gabrielle." Akemi said.

Xena saw the jealously flash in Akemi's eyes and sighed as she nodded. "She's my soul mate, Akemi. I love her more then I've ever loved anyone."

For several long moments the two just stood there looking at each other. Xena could understand that Akemi didn't want to spend all of eternity alone, and they had loved each other once, and a part of her would always care about Akemi, but right now the hurt and betrayal was just to much. Xena turned away from Akemi and started walking off in the direction she felt was right.

"Xena!" Akemi called out, her voice cracking with emotion. "Where are you going?"

"Home." Xena replied.

Akemi's eyes widened. "You can't! You've been dead to long."

Xena paused and turned to look at Akemi, "I'm going home, Akemi. I'm going to fight my way back to Gabrielle."

"You would face all of hell to return to her?" The girl asked.

"Yes," Xena replied simply and then started walking again. She had no idea what lay ahead of her, she was working off instinct as far as heading towards Hades, but she'd face anything to get back to Gabrielle. As she walked the snowy mountains disappeared, leaving her in a vast void of white nothingness. The bulky winter clothes she'd had on morphed into her leathers and armor and she nearly sighed in contentment to feel the familiar weight of her sword on her back. She was slowly starting to feel more like herself again, and it made her smile. For a moment she'd almost forgotten she was dead, that she wasn't really physically feeling any of this, but then she reached for her chakram and when it wasn't there she remembered she was just a spirit; a lost soul roaming the realms of the dead without a clue as to what to expect. She hated working without a plan, she wasn't even sure if Aphrodite could give her back her life, but for Gabrielle she'd chance it. For Gabrielle, she'd have faith and hope that they'd be together again soon.

Xena smiled as she continued to make her way through limbo. "I'm coming Gabrielle. I'm coming home to you, I promise."


	8. Chapter 8

It was hard to tell if she was actually getting anywhere, but Xena kept going in the direction that simply felt right to her. She couldn't really explain the feeling, but it was as if she felt tired and was heading to a safe and familiar place to sleep. As she walked her mind wandered, she thought about Gabrielle mostly. Where was she? What was she doing? Was she alright? Was she safe? Then she'd think about Eve. She hadn't gotten to say goodbye to her daughter/ Had Gabrielle gone to her? Had she told Eve what happened? The one thing she tried not to think about was how exactly Aphrodite would be sending her back. When she did think about it she couldn't come up with anything. Every myth, every legend she knew about coming back from the dead had a time limit, and she'd missed every one of them.

The moment Xena expressed that small doubt everything went pitch black. She couldn't see anything, couldn't hear anything, and she suddenly felt cold. She quickly drew her sword and carefully stepped forward. She was able to take several steps before her outstretched free hand came into contact with what felt like a wall.

"You doubt your love for her."

The voice caused a cold shiver to run down Xena's spin. "Never."

"But you don't think you can get back to her."

"I just can't think of a way." Xena replied as she tried to figure out where the voice was coming from. She listened carefully and moved slowly in the darkness. "Doesn't mean there isn't one. I don't know everything, maybe Aphrodite knows something I don't."

"But you find that hard to believe." The voice replied.

Xena smirked, "She might not come across as the smartest of the gods, but I learned a long time ago not to underestimate her."

"You'd put your soul in the hands of a god you don't even trust?" The voice asked. "Just to get back to my mother?"

Xena rolled her neck more out of habit then a need to loosen muscles that weren't there. "I love Gabrielle."

Hope suddenly appeared in the dark at the end of Xena's extended sword. "And she loved you above all others, even me."

"She loved you." Xena replied. She held the sword steady even though she didn't think it would be of much use. Did souls fight with swords? "Despite everything, she loved you."

"But she choose you." Hope replied.

Xena smirked.

"What makes you so different from me, Xena?" Hope asked as she pressed against the sword's tip. It pierced her skin and a trickle of blood slid from the wound and ran down between her breasts. "We're both evil, heartless, bitches, what makes you so loveable?"

"She thinks it's redemption." A second voice appeared in the dark.

Xena sighed. She really didn't like where this was going. She'd been here, done this, and she really didn't want to do it again.

Caesar appeared behind Xena. He smirked as he slid an arm around her waist and pressed their bodies together. He buried his face in her hair, taking a deep breath and then placed his lips close to her ear. "She thinks that by doing good it made up for all the bad. Naive, isn't she?"

"I can never completely make up for what I did." Xena replied. She wanted to pull away from him, she didn't want him touching her, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of forcing her to jerk away. "All I can do is try, and maybe in the end it'll all balance out."

"But this is the end, Xena." Caesar said as he played with her hair. "Your as dead as we are my dear."

"And we're going to make sure you stay that way." A third voice called out from the dark.

Xena looked in the direction of the third voice and a moment later the darkness receded. She was standing in a round space with curving walls all around her that reminded her of a maze. She could see one opening, but standing in front of the opening were Strife and Discord.

Strife laughed that high annoying laugh as he rubbed his hands together. "We're going to have fun keeping you here."

"I kicked your asses once, I can do it again." Xena replied as she pulled her sword free of Hope. With a quick, practiced, graceful move she ducked as she swung the sword, easily slashing Caesar across the chest. She moved away from him and Hope, keeping them and the other two in sight as she weighted her options. She needed to get to the opening, she needed to get to Hades, she needed to get home, she didn't have time for games. "I've faced my demons before, had it out with my past and the ghosts that haunt it, this isn't new to me, so bring it on."

Xena's battle cry rang out loud and clear as she was attacked. This wasn't the first time she'd fought for her immortal soul, but she really hoped it would be the last. She was getting to old for this shit. Apparently the sword did work against fellow souls, Hope and Caesar bleed when she cut them and Strife went up in a ball of smoke. Problem was that she bleed too, and as Discord came after her she had to duck out of the way of the godling's sword. Always the hot head, even in death, Discord's attacks were wild which made her counter moves hard to preplan so she just had to go on instinct. When she finally got the upper hand she made quick work of Discord then ran for the opening.

Sure enough, Xena found herself running through a maze. Not only did it appear as if she had to take on her demons yet again, she had to do it while trying to find her way through walls of her own memories. She caught glimpses of her childhood, her adolescence, her war-lording, and her time with Gabrielle. It was one of those memories, one where she and Gabrielle lay together under the stars and she whispers how much she loves her, that caught Xena's attention. She watched the memory play out and just as she reached to touch Gabrielle's face she felt something sharp embed in her back. She growled as she tried to reach what felt like a throwing star from Chin, and growled even more when she turned to see who'd thrown it.

"How the mighty have fallen." Ming T'ien said with a smile.

His voice felt like a snake crawling across her skin and she fought to keep from shuddering. "I was hoping I could get out of here without having to look at you two again."

"Aww, she didn't miss us, brother." Pao Ssu teased.

"About as must as I'd miss a snake bite." Xena retorted.

Ming T'ien frowned, "You've hurt my sister's feelings, Xena."

Xena pretended to pout. "Awww," Then she smirked. "Good."

She saw the first blast coming, it was the second from Pao Ssu that hit her. Somewhere deep inside as she ducked power blasts and tried to figure out how to counter attack, Xena could understand why they would want to force her to stay here forever. What gave her the right to keep thumbing her nose at death? But then again she couldn't help but wonder if they'd feel that way if they had someone like Gabrielle, someone to share that kind of pure love with. Another memory played in the back ground, Xena caught just a flicker out of the corner of her eye as Gabrielle whacked her in the nose with her staff and then kissed her cheek. Xena smiled, and that's when she heard it. It was faint, as if it were coming from the end of a very long tunnel, but it was clear.

"Xena," It was Gabrielle's voice. "Gods I still miss you. I can't believe your missing this, I wish you were here."

The sound of Gabrielle's voice caused Xena's heart to race and suddenly she felt warm and kind of tingly. She stopped trying to fight Ming T'ien and his sister and just stood there. Closing her eyes she listened, Gabrielle's voice rang out as it called out her name. Xena held up her hands, her body began to glow, and then the whole maze began to shake. Athena, Hades, Zeus, Hope, Caesar, even Alti appeared and added their own powers, their own attacks, but nothing touched Xena as she stood there.

"I love you Xena."

"I love you Gabrielle."

A explosion of light radiated from Xena and spread outward like a tsunami. Everything and everyone was engulfed in it, but not even their screams could drown out Gabrielle's voice. When the light faded and Xena opened her eyes she found herself in the pure white nothingness again, but she still wasn't alone.

Lao Ma smiled softly, "I had always hoped you would find such love, my warrior princess."

Xena smiled as she went to her mentor, she hugged her and looked away sheepishly. "You know you have every right to have been on their side."

Lao Ma patted Xena's cheek and smiled again. "I will always be on your side, Xena."

"I've missed you." Xena said softly as she looked into her mentor's eyes. "There's so much I want to say. I'm sorry…"

"There is no need for that." Lao Ma said with a shake of her head. "There is nothing to ask forgiveness for because I have already forgiven you." She smiled warmly again and then leaned in and kissed Xena's forehead. "Quickly now, through that door." She pointed to a doorway that wasn't there a moment ago. "They were not kidding when they said they wished to keep you here forever."

Xena nodded. She hugged Lao Ma again and then headed for the door. She paused and turned back just before opening it. It hadn't even crossed her mind that this could be a trap. She'd felt the wise woman's power long before seeing her, she hadn't brought the maze and her tormentors down alone. "Thank you, and not just for helping me here."

"I know." Lao Ma replied. "And you are most welcome my daughter."

As she opened the door Xena felt tears well in her eyes and a smile light up her face. Turning away from her mentor she stepped out of the blinding white of nothingness and into the dark once again.


	9. Chapter 9

It took several minutes for Xena's eyes to adjust to the dark but as they did she could tell it wasn't a total blinding dark like before, she could make out shapes and forms. She blinked several times and when her sight was adjusted she looked around. She was in Hades. The three headed dog gave it away. Drawing her sword she prepared to take Cerberus on as she called out for Aphrodite.

"What took you so long?" Aphrodite asked when she appeared. She glanced over at the three headed dog and huffed. "Stop it, she's invited."

Xena tried not to smirk when the dog sat and began to wag it's tail as if Aphrodite were going to walk over and pet it for being a good monster dog. "What do you mean what took me so long? It's only been, what, a couple of hours?"

"Try two whole full moons." The blonde said as she did indeed go over and scratch the muzzle of each head. "Time works differently in limbo and down here. It's been two mortal months since I found you, so lets hurry up and get you back. I can't keep avoiding Gabby."

"Why are you avoiding her?" Xena asked as she followed the goddess deep into Hades.

Aphrodite smiled, "I didn't tell her what I was doing. She asked me to see if you were in the fields, but I haven't gone back since. She's starting to get a little ticked off when I don't show up when she calls for me."

"Why didn't you tell her?" Xena asked. She looked around to see where they were going and realized they were heading to a part of the underworld she hadn't ever been too. It was starting to worry her a little.

"Didn't want to get her hopes up." The blonde replied.

Xena nodded in understanding. They walked for a little while and then she finally had to ask the question that had been plaguing her since the goddess first showed up. "Why are you doing this?"

Aphrodite stopped and turned to look at Xena. She stared for a moment and then sighed, "You and Gabby are the closest I've ever come to having friends, besides, what kind of goddess of love would I be if I let something as silly as death get in the way of a love as pure and true as what you two share?"

Xena was touched and it showed in her eyes and in her smile. "Thank you, Aphrodite."

The blonde goddess huffed brightly and waved her hand dismissively. "It's what I do."

The two women walked deeper into a carven that Xena knew she'd never been to before. As they walked the air became a little cooler and she could hear water in the distance. As they approached the end of the long cavern tunnel she could see light dancing as if it were being reflected off water. When they finally exited the tunnel Xena saw the source of the water and light. It was a pool, a small lake of some kind. The light wasn't reflecting off it, but rather was coming from under it. She approached slowly and stood beside Aphrodite who was near the edge.

"What is it?" Xena asked as she looked down into the glowing water.

"The Lake of Lost Souls." Aphrodite replied.

Xena could feel a coolness coming from the water and knelt down to look more closely at the whirling light. "I'm not lost anymore."

"No, but your death was unjustified." The blonde replied. She saw Xena look up sharply and held out her hand to stop her from saying anything. "Honorable, but not justified. If you hadn't been lied to you'd have let Gabby put your ashes in the mountain lake. So because of that, we can bring you back using this lake."

"How?" Xena asked.

"Do you know the Amazon legend?"

Xena rolled her eyes.

"Right, of course you do." The blonde huffed. "But I'm gonna retell it anyway. See, the story goes that Artemis used souls from this lake to create the first Amazons. So, that's what I'm going to do."

"You're going to make me an Amazon?" Xena asked as she stood and looked at the blond.

Blonde curls danced as Aphrodite smiled, "No, I'll make you, you, this is just a way of recreating your body. Trust me, it'll work."

Trust her, trust a god, trust this particular god. She once made her obsessed with fishing, she'd turned her into a child, she was always getting Gabrielle into trouble, and yet she was meant to trust her. Xena stood there staring at Aphrodite. Artemis, Athena, Hera, she could believe had the power and know how to do this, but Aphrodite? Could she take such a huge leap of faith? For Gabrielle, she'd do anything. "What do I have to do?"

Aphrodite smiled so brightly it lit up the room. It meant so much to her that Xena was going to go through with this. "Just get into the water, I'll do the rest."

Xena looked between the goddess and the lake. The shimmering bright lights coming from the pool danced across the rock walls of the cavern in pretty pinks, blues, and greens. It seemed peaceful enough, a clam place to rest when you weren't yet meant to be at rest. Xena closed her eyes and thought of Gabrielle, and for a moment she could hear her lover's voice calling out to her again. When those dazzling blue eyes opening again Xena didn't even hastate, she stepped into the pool of water. It was cool at first but then began to get warmer as she sank deeper. She paused to look over her shoulder and saw her friend smiling at her, she was surrounded with a golden glow that Xena hadn't ever seen before. The blonde nodded at her and she nodded back. She walked a little more and then submerged herself.

The water surrounded her, it didn't just wash over her but went through her in alternating currents of warmth and cold. It was calming, relaxing, and Xena felt at peace as she floated along with it's movement. The lights dimmed and she suddenly felt as if she were sinking, then the lights came back brighter and more beautiful then before. Suddenly the water didn't feel as if it were passing through her, but began to feel as if it was washing over her. The lightness she'd felt a moment before was gone and if she didn't know any better she'd have said she was getting heavier. A moment ago it hadn't crossed her mind that she was underwater and couldn't breathe, but now the thought of air filling her lung tickled at the back of her mind. She'd need to breath soon, she'd need air, and just like that she felt the tickle of panic, she was going to drown. The lights were nearly blinding now, the water was becoming choppy and colder. Cold crept in on her, her lungs began to burn, when the darkness set in so did the panic. Xena began to struggle, she started fighting against the currents, trying in vain to swim but not knowing which way was up. She was going to drown. Her last thoughts before losing consciousness were of Gabrielle.

The sand was warm on the flame haired woman's feet as she walked along the shore. She could feel her guards and ladies in waiting watching near by and it made her sigh. She was Queen and yet couldn't get a moments peace because everyone was so worried she'd be attacked. Her thoughts drifted to the person everyone was so afraid of and she sighed again, she believed with all her heart that Aella wouldn't harm her, and she wouldn't do it here, where she had lost her only child not so long ago.

The Queen's thoughts were quickly forgotten as she watched in horror and shock as the body of a young woman washed ashore. Before anyone could tell her not to she ran over to where the girl was and she quickly knelt beside her. The Queen carefully rolled the girl over as she called out for her guards. She could fell the thump of blood in the vain on the girl's neck and without hesitation she started pushing water out of the girl's lungs, and then leaned down to put her own breath into her. Once the girl was breathing on her own, the Queen looked down at her. She wasn't very old, but she was an adult. Her hair was long and raven, her skin lightly tanned, her eyes which began to flutter open and close looked to be blue.

"Take her to the palace and call for a healer." The Queen ordered.

The men nodded, the biggest of them heaved the girl into his arms as is she were a child despite appearing to be nearly his own height, and then followed his queen back towards the palace.

"Where?" The young woman choked out.

"Easy child, your safe." The Queen said softly. She looked at the girl her guard had in his arms and then asked, "What's your name?"

The young woman blinked, and a moment later those amazing blue eyes filled with panic. She couldn't remember. "I..I don't know."


	10. Chapter 10

Finding Amazons had always been hard to do unless you knew where to look, but now even that kind of knowledge didn't helped much. It pained Gabrielle, but the truth of the matter was that the Amazons were becoming more and more rare as a people. The tribe she and Eve had set out to find were one of the few left in Greece. They'd settled near a coastal kingdom east of the Aegean. A combined tribe who's queens had been sisters, but were now ruled over by the only daughter of the younger sister. Aella had been more then hospitable to Gabrielle and Eve, welcoming them not only as sister Amazons but as a fellow queen and her heir.

"I'm glad to see someone besides myself taking enjoyment from those old scrolls."

Gabrielle looked up from the poems she'd been reading and smiled. Aella was tall, but not as tall as Xena. Her hair was the color of chocolate, her eyes the color of honey, and her skin pale and milky. She was older then Gabrielle appeared to be, old enough to remember hearing stories of her and Xena as they'd happened. She'd even known Ephiny, which was always a plus when it came to Gabrielle liking someone. "You have an incredible collection."

"I'm glad you approve." Aella said with a soft smile.

"Where on earth did you get some of these?" Gabrielle asked as she held up the scroll she'd been reading. "Sappho's poems?"

That made the Amazon queen's smile brighten, though a flicker of pain dashed behind her eyes. "They were a gift."

The look told Gabrielle all she needed to know. She returned her new friend's smile and then rolled up the scroll. "You weren't at the morning meal." She said, trying not only to change the subject but to feed her own curiosity. "Is everything alright?"

Aella nodded as she sat on the bench beside the smaller woman. "A few of my scouts have returned. There seems too be some buzz around the capital. Something about the Queen."

"Do you think it has anything to do with the sudden attacks?" Gabrielle asked. Two days after she and Eve had arrived a group of soldiers had attacked one of the hunting parties, injuring everyone and nearly killing two of the younger girls. They'd been dressed plainly, no livery to tie them to the palace, but Aella was convinced they were royal soldiers.

"I don't know." Aella sighed. "It doesn't make sense. Then Queen gave us these lands, I can't see a reason as to why she would suddenly want to drive us away. Isadroa wouldn't do that."

"You're so sure she wouldn't attack you, but you're also just as sure that it's her men." Gabrielle said carefully. She hadn't missed the inflection in Aella's voice whenever she spoke the other woman's name, it was the same catch in her own when she said Xena.

Aella got up and began to pace the room. "Isadora is a good queen. She's fair and strong, her people adore her…"

"But?" Gabrielle asked as she watched the other woman carefully.

"She relies to heavily on the advice of men." Aella growled.

Gabrielle didn't say anything right away. She sat there and watched Aella, she paid more attention to what her body and her eyes were saying then to her words. There was a history between her and Queen Isadora, of that Gabrielle was sure, but just how deep did that history run? "Aella…"

"Mother! Mother!"

"Here Cera," Aella called out.

Gabrielle looked up just in time to see a young girl with vibrant red hair and deep sea green eyes burst into the room. She smiled at the young woman, then smiled a little more when Eve followed in behind her. Cera was younger then Eve but the two had hit if off instantly, and for the first time ever Gabrielle had gotten to see Eve before more young and carefree.

"Great!" Cera beamed. "You're both here. We want you to come to the shore with us." At the first sign of protest from her mother Cera cut in. "You've been in council all morning, Mother. A little down time wouldn't do you harm."

"The sun and sea air will do you good." Eve added in as she looked over at Gabrielle. "You're still looking a little pale."

Gabrielle rolled her eyes. "You try getting sick every morning when you wake up and not look pale."

There was a curve to Gabrielle's belly now, but her morning sickness was keeping that glow Eve had heard about at bay. "Sea air is good for settling stomachs."

"Is it?" Gabrielle asked with a smirk.

Eve nodded, "Yes, and it's also never to early to expose the baby to the sea. It'll need a head start if it takes after you rather then Mother."

Gabrielle tried not to laugh as she huffed. "Brat."

After finally giving in the four women along with two other Amazons who insisted on coming along to watch over them headed towards the shore. Gabrielle watched with a smile as Eve laughed with Cera and spoke confidently with the others. It hadn't been to long ago that her daughter had had a rather nasty run in with a tribe of Amazons, it was good to see her comfortable with this tribe. Though she didn't have a tribe of her own anymore, Eve still carried her right of cast and it was important to her that Eve knew what it meant to be an Amazon.

"Your tale still amazes me." Aella said as she sat beside Gabrielle on the sand. "A mystical conception, a child created from the love of two women."

Gabrielle smiled softly, "The further along I get the more positive I am that this child is Xena's. It's hard to explain."

"I have read your scrolls, Gabrielle. When it comes to you and Xena, the impossible is highly probable."

That made the smaller blonde laugh. "You have no idea."

And yet Xena was still dead and she hadn't heard a word from Aphrodite. The pain of Xena's loss wasn't as sharp now, but it was still a dull and consistent ache. Not knowing what happened to Xena afterwards wasn't helping. It had gotten to the point where she was starting to think that Aphrodite hadn't forgotten, that she was avoiding her, which meant something was wrong.

"You know," She said carefully after several moments of silence where they'd simply watched their daughters. "Achieving the impossible isn't as hard as you'd think."

"You still think I should speak with Isadora." Aella replied.

Gabrielle nodded, "The attacks are getting worse. Next time, someone could very well die."

Aella sighed. "I can't Gabrielle."

The blonde warrior bard looked at the Amazon queen, meeting her eyes she asked, "Why not?"

"Because she told me she never wanted to see me again." Aella said. "And I promised I would stay away."


	11. Chapter 11

The ruins of Aphrodite's temple were a day's walk from the Amazon village. Gabrielle had come so often that she had it down to a half a day. Standing in the center of the ruble she closed her eyes and sighed. Why was she still even bothering? Because she couldn't stand not knowing what had happened to Xena and she keep trying to find out even if that meant going to Mount Olympus or Hades herself.

"Aphrodite!" She called out in a strong booming voice. "I'm getting tired of this! What's going on!" Silence washed over the ruins and the blonde standing in the middle of it all. Moments passed that seemed like hours, but then the air rippled. Gabrielle opened her eyes and watched as the blonde goddess finally appeared. "It's about time." The warrior bard growled in a very Xena like manner. "What's going on? Why have you been avoiding me?"

Aphrodite swallowed hard and tried to smile. She looked at her friend and bit her lip as she held up two hands to ward off Gabrielle's tirade. "Now, Gabby, just calm down. That kind of stress isn't good for the baby."

Gabrielle narrowed her eyes as she stepped closer to the goddess. "What's happened to Xena?"

"Well, see, it's complicated." The goddess replied as she took a step back. "I went to the Elysian fields to see if she was there, but she wasn't. I kind of didn't think she would be, because even I knew something about your story sounded fishy. So, well, I went looking for her."

Concern widened Gabrielle's eyes as she started at the other blonde. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You couldn't have done anything, but you would have tried and that would have put you and the baby at risk, so I went looking for her." The goddess replied. She smiled a little more then. "I went to Athena's library and read what I could on Japa and their underworld. Not a nice place by the way. Then I went looking for her there, only she wasn't there either. She was in limbo."

"What? Why?" Gabrielle could feel a headache poking at her temples and tried not to reach up to relieve the pressure.

"Psycho ex-girlfriend wanted to keep her all to herself." Aphrodite explained. "Guess she got herself locked out of the underworld and didn't want to spend forever alone in limbo."

"Akemi?" Gabrielle asked and then frowned. "Clingy little bitch."

The last part had been muttered under Gabrielle's breath but Aphrodite still heard it and it made her laugh.

Gabrielle looked up at the goddess and asked, "Where is Xena now? Is she still stuck in limbo?"

Aphrodite shook her head. "Once I told her the truth about psycho ex-girlfriend had lying to her, she was more then willing to come back to Hades. It took her awhile, you know the whole facing your past life thing, but she finally made it."

"So she's finally in the Elysian fields?" Gabrielle cut in. "Does that mean I can see her now?"

"No." The taller blonde replied. "You can't, cause she isn't."

Again Gabrielle's eyes narrowed. She looked at Aphrodite for several long moments as she pieced it all together. Finally she sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "What did you do, Aphrodite?"

The goddess of love bit her lip as she smiled. She waited until Gabrielle was looking at her before explaining. "Well, I have great news." Her smile brightened. "Xena's alive."

Gabrielle's eyes snapped open. Her heart stopped beating in her chest and she forgot how to breath as her mind rolled over what her friend had just said. Xena was alive? She blinked. How? She blinked again and then shook her head a bit to clear it when she felt Aphrodite's hand on her back.

"Breathe Gabby!" Aphrodite said a little panicked. When her friend filled her lungs and then let the breath out slowly, the goddess sighed in relief.

"How?" Gabrielle asked, her voice conveying her emotions as it shook just a little.

"The Lake of Lost Souls." The goddess answered. "I was able to use Artemis's…spell for a lack of a better word… and bring Xena back…"

Gabrielle's heart thundered in her chest. Xena was alive? But if she was, then why hadn't she felt it? She looked at Aphrodite again, really looked at her and then asked, "What went wrong?"

Aphrodite swallowed. "I know it worked, I know because her soul isn't in the lake, and because the Fates told me they'd woven a knew thread for her…."

"But?"

"I kind of, sort of, lost her."

Anger, fear, relief, happiness, hope, worry, it all played in Gabrielle's eyes as she stood there staring at the barely clothed goddess. She blinked again, and again shook her head a little to clear her thoughts. "You lost Xena?"

Aphrodite nodded. "The lake is mystically connected to the Aegean. She could have washed up anywhere."

"I have to find her." Gabrielle said as her mind raced. "I have to find Xena."

Before Aphrodite could say another word Gabrielle was heading back towards the path that would take her back to the village. "Gabby!"

Gabrielle spun around. "What?"

"There was a side effect." The goddess swallowed yet again as she picked at the edge of her pink lace wrap.

"What kind of side effect?" A hundred things ran through her mind, the worse of which was that Xena had come back as her darker self, then there was the idea that maybe she'd come back a baby or a child.

"The Fates said that Xena's alive, but that her thread of life was still raw." Aphrodite said.

Gabrielle narrowed her eyes. "What does that mean?"

"She has a blank slate," Aphrodite explained. "Her life could go anywhere, she could be anyone, Xena's alive but she might not know she's Xena, and if she doesn't remember who she is by the second full moon after she took her first breath, she'll never remember."

"Then I have to find her fast." Gabrielle said.

It took a lot for Gabrielle not to run all the way back to the village. As she walked she thought about what she'd been told, about Xena being alive but not knowing who she was. If Xena didn't know who she was, then she didn't know Gabrielle, she didn't know of their life and their love. That should have hurt more then it did, but honestly Gabrielle was just glad Xena was alive again. She had faith in their love, it had brought them back to each other time and time again. This wouldn't be the first time Xena didn't remember her, but by the gods let it be the last. They were getting to old for this.

As she grew closer to the outskirts of the village she could hear the sound of fighting. Gabrielle's instincts kicked in, her body prepared for a fight, her ears took in the sounds around her, her heart reminded her Eve was in the village. Ducking into the trees Gabrielle approached the sounds of battle. A group of black clad men were fighting what looked to be a group of young Amazon returning from the river. Baskets of fish and laundered clothes were scattered everywhere. This was the closest attack to the village yet, and as she crept around the trees to get into position she knew the next one would be against the village it's self.

The sun gleamed off the chakram as it glided through the sky. It came out of the woods and clanged against a sword that was about to come down on one girl, then knocked another armed man in the head before bouncing off the hilt of another sword. Gabrielle caught it on it's return then jumped into the fray. The appearance of an older and more experienced Amazon rallied the girls and with Gabrielle's help they ran the men off. When it was all over Gabrielle looked at the others and began to access the damage.

A young sandy blonde girl knelt next to another who was laying on the ground. Gabrielle went over to them and knelt on the other side of the girl. Her chest was slick, dark, and covered in blood. Gabrielle reached down and pressed two fingered to the pulse point in the girl's neck. She was dead.

They carried the girl's body back to the village and it caused an uproar. She and the others gave the girl over to healer, for what good it would do, and the priestess. Gabrielle watched as they carried her away.

"Gabrielle!" Aella called out. "What happened?"

"The girls were attacked." Gabrielle said as she turned to watch Aella, Cera, and Eve approach. "Eirene is dead."

Cera choked on a sob. "No."

Eve put an arm around her friend's shoulder.

Gabrielle looked right into Aella's eyes as she said, "Are you ready to talk to Isadora now or do more of your young need to die?"


	12. Chapter 12

Isadora stood in the shade of a tree as she watched her young guest slowly work her body in movements that she'd never seen before, and yet she knew what they were for. The movements were clearly some type of fighting style, one that this young woman was clearly a master of. It seemed that every day the young woman was with them, Isadora was surprised by something new. As she watched, Isadora found herself smiling softly. In some ways this young woman, who'd she'd taken to calling Selene after finding her gazing at the moon as if it held the key that would unlock her memories, reminded her so much of her Ioanna. Her daughter had been fierce, but loving; hard at times but with a soft heart. She found the ache of Ioanna's loss a little less now that this young woman was here, but she still missed her daughter very much.

Spinning around Selene caught sight of the queen and blushed. She was a little breathless from her work out so her words were a little breathy. "Your Majesty. I didn't know you were there."

Isadora laughed. "That was the point. I wanted to watch you without you knowing I was watching you."

Selene blushed.

"Yet another fighting style?" Isadora asked as she approached the younger woman.

"Apparently I have many skills." Selene said softly as a crooked smirk appeared on her bright face. "I've found that this, whatever this is," She waved her arms about in a mocking way of how she'd been moving them just a few moments before. "Helps me to think with a clearer head. I was hopping it would help."

"Has it?" Isadora asked.

Selene shook her head. "I'm thinking just fine, I'm just not remembering anything." There was a tone of deep frustration in the raven haired young woman's voice. It had been well over a full week and then some since the queen had found her washed up on the shore, and still she couldn't remember a thing, not even her name. "It's as if I didn't exist before taking that first breath of air on the beach."

Isadora put a comforting hand on the young woman's shoulder. "It will come to you, if it is meant to come, but it'll take time."

A soft growl of frustration rumbled from Selene's throat. She felt lost and out of control of the situation, and something deep inside said she didn't like not having control. She knew things that she didn't know how she knew, she could do things she didn't know how she did them; a lifetime of lessons and experiences she couldn't remember.

Isadora brushed at the younger woman's raven hair and started to say something comforting, but before she could get the words out she was interrupted by a palace guard. She watched as he came towards her after calling out to her to gain her attention. When he was closer to them she asked, "What is it?"

"Your Majesty," He bowed in greeting and respect. "There is a woman at the front gates who seeks an audience with you. She says that she wishes to speak to you on behalf of the Amazons."

An eye brow the same red as the queen's hair rose slowly in question. "The Amazons wish to talk?"

The guard nodded and yet shrugged as well. "That is what she said, Your Majesty, but she is not an Amazon."

"Who is she then?" The queen asked.

"She said she is an intermediary." He replied. "She says her name is Gabrielle of Potidaea."

Selene watched Isadora carefully and caught the look of surprise on the older woman's face. She'd heard bits and pieces of what was going on with the Amazons, and she'd often wondered why the queen hadn't tried talking to them. She'd also picked up on something whenever Isadora mentioned Aella, something painful, something lost, something missed, but she didn't quiet understand it. "Does that name mean something, Your Majesty?"

Isadora smiled a little, "It would appear little one that a legend has come to my door."

"A legend?" Selene asked.

Isadora nodded and squeezed Selene's shoulder affectionately. "I will find you later and tell you what I remember of the legends, but right now I need to see where this leads."

Selene bowed her head in acknowledgement and then watched as the queen walked back towards the palace. She stood there for awhile by herself, but then her curiosity got the better of her. She'd never met a legend before, or at least she didn't remember ever meeting one. For all she knew she could be one herself. Selene laughed at the thought and shook her head it's absurdity.

She wasn't sure what she'd expected in Queen Isadora, but the rather striking redhead sitting on the throne as she entered the chamber, wasn't it. She looked to be around Aella's age, but unlike Aella's clearly Greek features, this woman looked nearly Celt in her appearance. "You Majesty," Gabrielle greeted. "Thank you for agreeing to see me."

"How could I not once my guard informed me of who you are." Isadora smiled. "I grew up listening to tales of your adventures. I must say, it's surreal to see you standing there in the flesh, not looking a day older then twenty seasons."

Gabrielle smiled softly in return, "Sleeping in an ice cave does wonders for a youthful appearance."

The tall man standing just off the dais that the throne was on, huffed. He was dark and brooding and the design of his leather and armor pieces identified him as being Persian. This would have thrown her off a bit if Aella hadn't filled her in on some things. Isadora's father had arranged a marriage of alliance for his only daughter in an attempt to save his kingdom from the invasion strikes of the Persian army. Tall, dark and grumpy was the queen's brother-in-law and all around not nice guy.

"Do you have something to say, Yashar?" Isadora asked as she glanced at the man to her left. Her husband's brother was one of her advisors, not that she took a lot of his advice. Yashar was the total opposite of his brother. Cyrus had be fair, open, intelligent, and free with his thinking and his emotions. Yashar was simply… well, Persian.

"How do we know this woman is who she calms to be?" The dark man huffed. "Anyone can clam to be a legend, a character from a tall tale. She looks like nothing more then a conniving Amazon to me."

Anger flushed in Isadora's eyes and colored her cheeks a little, but her voice was level and calm. "Gabrielle of Potidaea was, is, an Amazon. A queen in fact, but she's Greek by birth. As for the virility of her claim, the weapon at her size is all the proof I need." Isadora fixed bright sea green eyes on Gabrielle as she added, "My condolences on the loss of your companion, Gabrielle."

Gabrielle gave a sad smile and gentle nod. It was the chakram, it was bound to give away Xena's death to any one who truly knew the stories. "Thank you."

Deciding to get to the point of this meeting, which Yashar had advised against, Isadora said, "My guard told me you wish to speak on the behalf of the Amazons."

Gabrielle nodded, "Queen Aella would like to meet with you in order to talk about the attacks."

Isadora raised that questioning brow again, "Is she ready to explain why her Amazons are attacking my villagers? Or perhaps why they've tried attacking me personally?"

It was hard to do, but somehow Gabrielle kept the surprise off her face. "Amazons attacking you?"

The queen nodded, "Isn't that why you're here?"

Gabrielle shook her head. "No, Aella wants to talk about the attacks on the Amazons. Men dressed as mercenaries, but who are clearly men of the royal army."

Isadora's eyes went wide but that was the only sign of her surprise.

"If these men, that is if we believed you about being attacked, were dressed as mercenaries then how can you claim they are from our army?" Yashar asked pointedly.

Gabrielle looked at him and then at Isadora. "I have been around long enough, seen and fought enough, to know the difference between the cut throat style of a mercenary and the well trained style of a solider. These men fought as a unit, they used a type of hybrid technique that seemed partly Roman, party Persian, with a splash of Celt to keep an adversary on their toes."

Before her brother-in-law could add anything more, which she'd speak to him about later, Isadora asked, "Why did Aella not come to me herself?"

"She made you a promise many years ago." Gabrielle said honestly. "I've come to ask you to release her from that promise and to meet with her to discuss what's been happening, which it would seem is more then we'd thought."

"Indeed." The queen agreed. She sat there looking at Gabrielle, but her mind drifted to Aella. She remembered the night she'd screamed at the other woman, telling her she never wanted to see her again, and the tears in Aella's eyes as she'd made her promise to stay away. Finally she said, "Give me two days and then I will give you my answer."

Gabrielle nodded.

From a doorway to the right and just behind the throne a set of stunning blue eyes took in everything. Selene watched and listened, her gaze always returning to the small blonde woman who'd come to see the queen. She was kind small for a legend, but there was something about her that made her seem larger then life and Selene was even more curious about the stories surrounding this seemingly harmless woman.


	13. Chapter 13

The gardens stretched well beyond the palace and towards the sea. It was one of Selene's favorite places, a place where she didn't feel so boxed in. She walked along side the queen as the older woman told her about the legends of Xena and Gabrielle. What must it be like to know such friendship and love, she wondered as they walked. Had she ever been as close to someone as Xena had been to Gabrielle?

"What did you think of my guest?" Isadora asked with a knowing smile.

Selene blinked. "Your Majesty?"

The older woman laughed. "I know you were lurking, Selene. I was asking what you thought of Gabrielle?"

She'd thought the blonde was beautiful, but Selene didn't say that out loud. "There was a twitch to her eyes, just enough to know you surprised her when you brought up the Amazon attacks."

Isadora nodded, "I'm sure she was as taken aback as I was when she said they were being attacked by us."

"Do you think there could be a third party involved?" The tall raven haired woman asked as she reached up into an olive tree and picked one of the ripe fruits.

The queen was silent as she thought about it. Her mind flashed back to the night her husband was killed, the night she'd blamed Aella, the last night she'd ever seen the other woman up close. The problem was that her memories of that night were fuzzy, she had after all just given birth, but what she remembered most clearly was the look on Aella's face that night. "I don't know." She finally said softly. "It's been nearly twenty years, Aella could have changed, it could have been a lie just to throw us off."

"Do you really believe that?" The young woman asked.

Isadora sighed, "I just don't know."

The two women continued to walk together, a comfortable silence building between the two of them as their thoughts drifted off. The weather was nice and there was a gentle breeze blowing off the distant sea and Selene smiled softly to herself. She liked the water, it was calming and serene. She even knew she could work on a ship, though she still didn't know why she knew something like that.

There was a shift in the way the leaves moved in the trees and it caught Selene's attention. She titled her head ever so slightly so she could listen, and as she did so her smile turned into a slow frown. There was movement in the trees that had nothing to do with the wind. She carefully looked up, there was a flash of light off metal, and before the queen could even draw her next breath Selene was in the trees. Moments later a young woman came crashing to the grown with the raven haired Selene. Selene rolled the other woman and then pulled her roughly to her feet, pinning her arms behind her back.

"What in the name of the gods!" Isadora breathed as she started at the two other women.

Selene held out a knife with her free hand. "She was going to kill you."

Isadora blinked. The strange woman was dressed as an Amazon and it crushed something inside her. Why would Aella have her killed?

As if she were reading the queen's mind Selene said, "She isn't an Amazon."

"How…" The queen began to ask.

"The cloth is wrong and that knife is Spartan." Selene replied. "She's a hire."

"But who would…"

Before the queen could finish her second question a group of guards and Yashar came running towards them. "Are you alright, Isadora?" Yashar asked. "We saw the scuffle from the palace."

"Thanks to Selene, I'm fine." Isadora replied. She looked between her brother-in-law and Selene, and then glanced at her guards. "Take this woman to the dungeons."

"Don't leave her alone." Selene added in. "She's a professional, she might try to kill herself rather then give up who hired her."

Yashar glared, "Hired? She's an Amazon, look at her! Isadora, now you must clearly see that the best course of action is to remove them from your lands. It's time to take out this threat before they harm you, or kill you, like they did Cyrus and Ioanna."

Angry eyes pinned Yashar in place. "Ioanna drowned, it was an accident Yashar."

"Isadora…"

The queen held up her hand. "I don't want to hear it right now." She turned and headed back towards the palace.

Yashar looked over at Selene, glaring at her. "I don't trust you."

Selene crossed her arms over her ample breasts and huffed, "I don't trust you either."


	14. Chapter 14

Standing near the door, Gabrielle watched as Aella's advising council left. Once everyone was gone she stepped further into the room. She watched Aella carefully as she tried to work a few things out in her own mind. Finally she stepped closer to the other Amazon queen. "Isadora has agreed to meet with you."

Aelle turned to look at the blonde. There was a mix of emotion on her face that she couldn't even began to explain, so she simply sighed and nodded. "When?"

"In three days." Gabrielle replied. "She thought someplace neutral would be best, she suggested an old fishing compound near the cliffs."

That made the older woman's eyes grow large before she blinked several times. "She offered the cliffs as a neutral place?"

Gabrielle nodded. She watched the surprise and confusion and all the other emotions play out on Aella's face. She'd been watching her so intently that the other woman actually turned away from her. That's when she finally had to ask, "What happened between you and Isadora?"

Aella lowered her head and sighed. She pressed her hands against the rough wood of the table she was standing in front of and lightly scratched at it with her nails. She stared at the wood as she replied. "There was a time when we loved each other so much we dreamed of ruling our people as one."

This time it was Gabrielle who blinked in surprise. She'd figured out the love affair, but had no idea it had run so deep. "What happened?"

"We'd been together for years, secretly of course, although Cyrus knew. Their marriage had been arranged, it was political. They were friends, lovers because Is needed an heir. He was her closest advisor and confident in the palace, but I was her love." Aella began as she continued to look down at the table. Her voice, despite the flood of emotion ebbing and flowing through her veins, was steady. "He came to me one day in the early spring. He told me that there was something going on in the palace and he feared for Is's safety, and that he needed my help. He would take care of the threat, and I was to keep Is safe. The compound on the cliffs was where we would meet, it's where I took her the night Cyrus was killed, the night she gave birth."

Gabrielle never took her eyes off the other woman as she moved to the other side of the table. When she was able to get Aella to look up at her she asked, "What happened that night?"

"I was going to bring her here until Cyrus said the threat was over." Aella replied. "But Is went into labor, so we ended up at the compound. It wasn't an easy labor, she was in and out of consciousness. Sometime just before dawn her royal guards showed up, I don't remember much after that, I remember fighting them off and then waking up here. When I went to the palace to see Is, I found her rocking her child and mourning Cyrus' death. She was angry that we'd tried to protect her, that we hadn't told her what was going on. She blamed me for his death. We got into a fight and before I realized it I was promising never to come to her again. She said she couldn't trust me."

"Did they find out who the threat was?" Gabrielle asked. She had a million questions to ask and thought this was the safest place to start.

Aella shook her head. "I don't know."

"Is that why you never told her about Cera?" Gabrielle asked.

Aella's head snapped up. Anger, fear, and a fierce protectiveness lit up her eyes. "What?"

"The Celts have a very particular look about them," Gabrielle replied carefully. "I hadn't thought much about it when I'd seen Cera, Amazons are nomads, a very mixed bunch, but then I saw Isadora for myself. Cera looks just like her."

Aella's breathing became shallow as her eyes narrowed. Her hands dropped to her sides as she clenched and unclenched her fists. She stared into Gabrielle's eyes, the other woman never faltered, but she didn't come across as a threat so she relaxed just a little.

Gabrielle wasn't sure if Aella was going to attack her or not. She tensed her body, preparing for an attack, but somehow managed to keep her eyes soft as she stared at the other woman. "How did you end up with one twin and not the other?"

"When the guards took Is they didn't know about Cera. I was going to tell her when I went to see her, but without knowing for sure that the threat that scared Cyrus so much wasn't a threat any longer… I made a choice."

"To keep her daughter safe at all cost." Gabrielle replied. Her hands went to her every enlarging stomach as she looked down at it. Above all else she wanted her and Xena's child safe, she wanted this new little life to have a chance at being happy, healthy, and safe.

Aella nodded. "I knew I'd done the right then when I heard Ioanna had drown. The girl was a good swimmer, she could handle a ship as well as any boy her age, better then most men older then she was."

"You think she was killed?" Gabrielle asked.

"I can't be sure." Aella replied. "But I just have a hard time thinking it was an accident."

Gabrielle looked at the older woman for a long time before adding, "You've been keeping an eye on them."

"As much as I could while keeping my promise." Aella nodded.

"You need to tell her the truth, Aella." Gabrielle said softly. "You need to tell her everything. You need to tell her what happened that night, about Cera, and how much you still love her."


	15. Chapter 15

They'd arranged to arrive at the same time with a set number of people and no more. Each queen would bring two guards and two of her most trusted advisors. Once both groups were there one guard from each group would go in and check the compound. It all felt like over kill to Aella, but as Gabrielle had reminded her the original threat to Isadora's life could still be in play. That's when it became less about not trusting Isadora, or Isadora not trusting her, and more about protecting the woman she loved.

Gabrielle stood just behind Aella and to her left. Because she was more of a moderator in all this she wasn't being counted as part of Aella's group, which suited her just fine. There were only eleven of them, thirteen if she counted Cera and Eve who'd been trailing behind them. If something happened, and the tightness in her stomach was telling her that something would, they were going to be at a disadvantage. It was the only reason she hadn't slipped away from the others to chastise the girls for not staying in the village as they'd been told. If something, or more like when something, happened Eve and Cera would be able to go for help.

"Here they come." Aella said softly. She hadn't seen Isadora since that night in her chambers, all those years and she had been true to her word. She'd had some of her best warriors keep an eye on the redhead, but she never once tried to see her for herself. Now, as the redhead and her delegation came into view she felt a tightness in her chest.

Gabrielle took in the approaching group carefully. Well trained and experienced eyes swept over each person until they reached Isadora and the woman riding beside her. Cautious blue eyes slowly grew wide as Gabrielle took in the dark haired woman. She swallowed a gasp as her heart started to pound painfully in her chest. The woman sitting on the multi-colored mare was tall, muscular, her skin sun kissed, her hair long and raven black, and her eyes even from a distance were a very unique icy, crystal blue. "By the gods."

"Gabrielle?" Aella asked as she turned to look at the other Amazon queen. "Is everything alright?" The group of women around Aella got tense. "Is there something wrong?"

The blond warrior bard shook her head slowly, still unable to wrap her mind around what, who, she was seeing. "No," She finally managed. "No, everything's fine."

"Are you sure?" Aella asked as she moved closer to the blond. "You look as if you've seen a ghost."

Again Gabrielle shook her head, "Not a ghost, but maybe a good omen."

"We could use one of those." Aella said as she once again turned to look at the group coming towards them. All five of the people coming closer to them were women, which surprised and pleased Aella. Isadora had respected the Amazon ways by not bring men with her, and Aella wondered if that meant something more, something personal.

Isadora watched Aella as she rode her horse closer to the cluster of Amazons. The woman was still beautiful, more so now that she was older, and it caused the queen to swallow hard. After all this time, after all that had happened between them, she hadn't counted on feeling old emotions again.

"Are you alright Your Majesty?" Selene asked once she took her gaze away from the small blond who stood with the Amazons.

Isadora nodded, "Just a little taken aback." She turned to look at the younger woman and smiled. "What about you little one? You seem to be enamored by our visiting legend."

"She's beautiful," Selene admitted and the turned to look at the woman again. "But there was something, as we were approaching, the way she looked at me."

"Perhaps she thinks you are beautiful as well." Isadora replied as she reached out to caress the younger woman's face.

It was a maternal gesture, one she'd used herself with Eve, but that didn't stop the knot in Gabrielle's stomach as she watched the redhead touching the raven haired woman. The only one who should be touching that soft cheek was her, but since everyone thought she was dead, how could she expect them to know? As it was, out of everyone now clustered together she was the only one who knew the truth, and that included the woman herself. Gabrielle could see it in her eyes, or see the lack of it rather, the lack of knowing who she was; Xena had no idea she was Xena.


	16. Chapter 16

The initial greeting was awkward to say the least. Aella and Isadora weren't sure how to act with each other so they both played their queen roles up a notch. Gabrielle wasn't sure how to act or react to the woman Isadora had introduced as Selene, but the moment she was standing face to face with her, Gabrielle knew it was Xena. Her heart, her very soul tugged towards this woman as if they were reaching for a missing part of themselves, and in a way they were.

After the compound had been cleared by the two guards sent in to check it over, the group of women settled into the one remaining building, which appeared to have been the main residence. An awkward silence filled the room as everyone watched everyone else with openly suspicious eyes. Gabrielle knew that Aella's advisors thought this was a bad idea, so it would only make sense that there were doubts among Isadora's people as well. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Gabrielle got to her feet and addressed the room.

"There's something going on in this kingdom, something that's pulled both sides into something no one knows about." She started. "The Amazons are being attacked by palace guards or royal soldiers…"

There was an outcry from Isadora's people but she held up her hand to silence them as she nodded to Gabrielle to go on.

"And the town and palace have been attacked by Amazons." Gabrielle went on.

"They weren't Amazons." Selene spoke up. "Their weapons, their clothes, they were all wrong."

"What would you know about being an Amazon?" One of the Amazons asked heatedly.

The raven haired young woman stared at the Amazon. "I know that Amazon's don't wear Spartan linen, I know that they don't use heavy dark woods in their blades unless it's for axes, or long swords, and the heavy wood they use for those would be local. The woman who attacked the Queen in the garden was Spartan, not an Amazon."

That made Gabrielle smile a little. She might not know she's Xena, but she appeared to know what Xena knew. Schooling her face she added, "The men who attacked the young women fought like trained soldiers, ones with a mix of technique, techniques from say a ruling family with Greek, Roman, Celt, and other such ties."

Before anyone could say anything else Isadora looked right at Aella and asked, "Did you attack us."

"No." Aella replied without hesitation. "Did you attack us?"

"No." Isadora replied just as firmly. The two women sat across from each other and simply stared into each others eyes. Moments past and no one said a word. Finally Isadora looked away from Aella and asked, "What's going on here?"

"I have a working theory." Gabrielle replied.

Selene watched the blond as she talked about the night the Cyrus had been killed. She spoke of threats and conspiracies, and unknown factors that still posed a threat. The blond was speaking aloud the same ideas she'd had herself. The more time she spent with the Queen, and the more she heard about her past, about Aella, about Cyrus, the more time she spent among the Queen's court, the more uneasy she felt about everything.

"I wish to speak to Aella alone." Isadora said after a long while of listening to Gabrielle.

"Your Majesty," One of her advisors warned. "I don't think…"

"Leave us!" Isadora commanded.

There was a bit of commotion but her people finally started to file out of the room. Aella's people followed after she'd given them a slight nod of her head.

Gabrielle was the last person to leave. She closed the door behind her and then wandered towards a window that over looked the ocean. She wanted to be close by so she could watch the room, listen to the movements of the queens' people, and watch for anything that might sneak up on them. She was so intent on these tasks that she missed the tall raven haired woman who stepped up beside her. When she caught sight of Xena out of the corner of her eye she jumped.

"I didn't mean to startle you." Selene said softly.

Gabrielle smiled weakly. "It's alright, I'm use to it."

Selene stared at the smaller blond for several seconds before finally speaking. "When you saw me as we approached, you looked at me as if you knew me."

Gabrielle nodded. She wasn't sure what she was meant to do. Did she just blurt out that she did know her and how she knew her? Aphrodite had said that Xena was reborn with a clean slate and that her new life could go in any direction, would it be fair to push her in the direction that lead her back to her? Would that be taking Xena's free will from her?

"How do you know me?" Selene asked.

"I can't tell you that." Gabrielle said without understanding what she was saying. "It's something you have to discover for yourself."

Selene looked into the shorter woman's eyes and then lifted her hand as if to touch her but then let her hand fall back again. "That caused you pain."

Gabrielle nodded. "Yeah, it did."

The two women stood there, staring into each other's eyes. Gabrielle willed Xena to remember, while the woman who was Selene tried to search for the answers that always seemed just out of her reach. Finally those crystal blue eyes drifted down to the weapon at Gabrielle's side. She was tempted to reach for it, it almost felt as if she longed to hold it, but her attention was grabbed by something else. "You're with child."

She tried to swallow against her suddenly dry mouth as she nodded. "Yeah, I am."

"The Queen's stories of you said your lover was a woman." Selene said as she looked back up into those pools of blue that she felt as if she could drown in.

"She was." Gabrielle replied. "Our child is a blessing, a mystical gift she gave to me before she died."

"That's incredible." Selene said softly as she reached out to touch Gabrielle's baby bump.

"Xena and I learned to never underestimate true love." Gabrielle replied. She glanced down at Xena's hand as it hovered just over her stomach, but before the other woman could lay her hand on their growing child, an uproar from outside caught their attention. Both women looked out the window just in time to see a small battlement of soldiers heading their way.

"I knew it!" They said in unison and then looked at each other.

"Yashar?" Gabrielle asked.

Xena nodded.

"But why?"

"I don't know." The raven haired warrior replied. Then a familiar smirk graced her lips as she added, "Lets find out."


	17. Chapter 17

Isadora and Aella just stared at each other for a long time. Neither woman knew what to say or where to start. So many years had passed, so much unsaid and unsettled. After what seemed like hours, but had only been minutes Aella finally spoke up. "I had to keep you safe that night, Issy."

"You and Cyrus should have told me what was going on." Isadora replied.

"We didn't want to worry you." Aella sighed as she continued to stare at her former lover. "You were having such a hard time with the pregnancy, we didn't want to risk it."

Isadora huffed at that, "I ended up in labor anyway."

"But you were safe." Aella said as she fought the urge to reach out and take the redhead's hand. "I'm sorry Cyrus was killed, I cared about him, he was a good friend, but he knew the risks and your and the babies' safety were what mattered, not ours."

Before Isadora could question the word "babies" the doors to the room crashed open. One of her gourds and one of Aella's Amazons came running in. It was her guard who spoke first, "My Queen! We're under attack!"

Both Aella and Isadora jumped to their feet. "What?! By who?"

Both women looked at each other and then back at their queens. Again it was Isadora's who spoke, "They wear the marks of the Syrians."

"Yashar." Aella said, her voice an angry hiss. "That's why Cyrus wanted to handle it his self, why he wouldn't let me send Amazons with him, it was personal."

Isadora blinked, "Yashar? But why…"

Before anyone could answer the room filled with armed men. Within seconds the room was filled with battle cries, screaming, the sound of clanking swords and metal upon shields. The Amazons and Isadora's guards fought side by side, but they were out numbered. Aella searched the room until she spotted a fallen sword and then joined the fight while trying to protect Isadora. Isadora in the mean time had picked up a chair and was smashing it against the back of one of the armed men.

Within the melee Gabrielle and Xena fought their way through four, five, and even six men at a time on opposite ends of the room. They had tried to keep the fighting away from this part of the compound, away from the queens, but they were outnumbered and Yashar's men pushed them back until they had no choice but to involve the queens. Gabrielle wasn't worried about Aella, she was an Amazon, but she wasn't sure about Isadora. Sparing a glance over her shoulder she caught sight of the redhead using a mug to slam a man's wrist and grab his sword from him. She smirked, of course a woman with the blood of the Celts in her veins, a woman who loved an Amazon would be able to handle herself.

Her blood seared with the heat of battle. Her mind clear and yet she was excited beyond passion by the thrill and the danger of it all. She felt as if she were breathing for the first time. Selene flipped, kicked, and sliced with her sword in ways she knew could only mean one thing, she was a warrior. As four men rushed at her she flipped, sending herself skyward where she grabbed a rope hanging from the ceiling. She used the momentum to slam into the man attacking Isadora before landing on the lookout landing along the far wall. From her perch she looked out over the fight, her eyes seeking out not Isadora like they should have, but Gabrielle. The small blond was fighting six armed men and defeating them one by one. After she'd thinned the cluster of attackers Gabrielle looked around, checking things out for herself, she must have seen something because Selene saw her go for the weapon at her side. She watched as the blonde unhooked the round blade and threw it.

Selene had been so busy watching the chakram as it made it's way across the room towards one of the armed men who was trying to sneak up on Isadora, that she didn't see the man sneaking up on Gabrielle until it was too late. When she turned to look at the blond again, a large man with a very sharp looking blade had her pinned against him, the tip of the blade pressing into her stomach.

The room suddenly felt very warm and Selene felt dizzy. She couldn't take her eyes from Gabrielle and the danger she was in. The sounds of the fight grew fainter until the only thing she could hear was Gabrielle's chakram ricocheting off the beams and stone walls. "Gabrielle," She whispered, her own voice echoed in her ears along with the sound of the chakram. "Gabrielle!" She called out a little louder as she saw the small pearl of blood on the knife the man was pressing into the blond's pregnant belly while Gabrielle tired to fight him off. She was a skilled fighter, but Selene watched as panic crept into the other woman's eyes. It wasn't fear for her own life, but fear for the miracle life that grew within her, the woman's last link to a lost love.

There was a sound to her left and just above her, Selene took her eyes off Gabrielle for only a second. As she lowered her gaze to the blond once again she lifted her hand in the air. The chakram fit in her hand perfectly and as soon as the cool metal made contact with her skin she was blinded by a painful light. Thought and memories came rushing back to her like a raging waterfall and for a moment she thought she was drowning, but then her vision clearly. Her gaze settled on Gabrielle and the knife slowly pushing through her skin. Her thoughts turned towards the baby inside Gabrielle's womb, the panic and fear in Gabrielle's eyes. Blood streamed along the blade and then dripped one crimson drop onto the stone floor. Xena screamed, "GABRIELLE!"

The room filled with a terrifying battle cry that made everyone freeze. As if it were done in slow motion every set of eyes in the room turned towards the raven haired woman standing on the catwalk near the lookout window. She stood there a little taller then before, a little darker then before, and yet brighter as well. She stood there with a sword in one hand and the chakram in the other. "Gabrielle!"

Somehow she knew, she couldn't explain how she knew, but she knew. The woman standing there was Xena. "Xena!"

Her battle cry roared from her throat as Xena flipped down, landing behind the man and before he had the chance to draw in a breath she used her chakram to cut off his hand. The man screamed and stumbled back, Xena kicked him in the gut before using the hilt of her sword to knock him out cold. Then she spun around and looked at Gabrielle. "Are you alright?"

"Xena?" Gabrielle asked carefully, her hand reaching out to touch the other woman to make sure she was real.

Xena smirked before leaning in and kissing Gabrielle softly. Before Gabrielle could even open her eyes again Xena had flipped back into the fight.


	18. Chapter 18

Years of planning were about to pay off. Years of building a following and waiting for just the right time. Once he killed Isadora Yashar could take over the kingdom and it's hidden riches. The vast recourses hidden on the Amazon land alone would keep him a wealthy man well into his old age, and with Isadora dead there wouldn't be anyone to stop him from killing them all, starting with their little bitch of a queen.

Dressed as one of his soldiers he made his way across the room to where Isadora was fighting. All he had to do was slip in behind her and slit her throat. It wasn't his original plan, that had involved setting up the Amazons and taking control under the guise of seeking vengeance for the queen's death. Now he would establish his coup in the aftermath of this bloody battle, he would take control of this land through force.

Yashar got behind Isadora and before she could turn to fight he grabbed her. He pressed his knife to her throat and whispered, "My brother's blood still stains this blade."

"Then you're really rotten at taking care of your things." Xena said from behind Yashar. As he'd been sneaking up on his sister-in-law, she'd been sneaking up on him.

Yashar could feel the tip of a sword pressed to his back so he tightened his hold on Isadora. "I'll kill her before you can kill me."

"You think so?" Xena asked. "You willing to try me?"

The fighting suddenly came to a stop again and Aella looked around to see what had happened this time. When she saw Isadora, Yashar, and the raven haired woman all the color drained from her face. "Issy!"

"Let the Queen go and I won't slice your lung in two." Xena hissed.

Yashar laughed, "Don't you see you wretched woman. I've already won. I control the army, and with this bitch dead and no heirs to get in my way, I will rule this land." He glared at Aella. "All of it."

A sudden sick feeling flopped in Isadora's stomach. "Ioanna."

"Sank like a stone when the drugs in her breakfast took effect." Yashar laughed.

Aella held her sword up as she walked closet to the three in the middle of the stand off. "You haven't won, Yashar. Even if you kill Isadora you will never rule this kingdom."

"You think you and your Amazons can take it? You're a dead race spread thinly throughout the world." He asked as he drew a thin line of blood from Isadora as he glided the blade along her skin. "You'll be the first to be slaughtered."

"Not me," Aella replied as she shook her head. "The rightful heir to Isadora's crown, her oldest daughter, you killed the wrong twin."

"Twin?" Isadora's voice was horse as she repeated the word.

Aella looked right at Isadora as she explained, "Yashar didn't know you'd already given birth when he snatched you from this very building. He didn't know about the baby who slept in a basket as I tried to help deliver her sister."

"That's what you came to tell me the night I made you leave." Isadora said as tears welled in her eyes.

Aella nodded, "I've raised her as my own, Issy. She's had only the very best of everything. She's an amazing young woman, just like you."

Isadora felt the tears roll down her cheek. The sudden news that she had another daughter far out weighed the threat to her life and despite the knife cutting into her neck and the ranting of the man holding her hostage she asked, "How could you."

"She wouldn't have been safe." Aella replied. "Can't you see that your safety and that of your daughters has always been the most important thing to me? I love you, Isadora."

"Enough!" Yashar bellowed.

Isadora could feel the blade move and knew she'd be dead soon. "Her name, Aella, what is her…."

Before Isadora could finish she felt Yashar go stiff behind her and then collapse to the floor. As he fell the knife cut down her throat but across it. She looked down at the man and blinked at the cross bow bolt sticking out of his temple. She looked up at Selene, who'd stepped back and was now smirking as she nodded towards the side door. Standing in the doorway was a red haired young woman with bright eyes.

"My name is Cera." Cera replied as she lowered the crossbow.


	19. Chapter 19

The two women walked through the garden without really saying much. Sure they'd become use to this kind of thing, but that didn't really take the awkwardness out of things. No matter how many times it happens, having your love come back from the dead is just plan odd. As Xena and Gabrielle walked through the palace gardens together they kept looking at each other, touching each other in quick, gentle ways just to make sure the other was real. Finally Xena lead them to a stone bench that over looking the sea.

"Gabrielle," She began as they sat. "If I had known it was a lie…"

"I know." Gabrielle said with a warm smile as she turned to face Xena. She reached out and caressed the taller woman's cheek and smiled a little more. "That doesn't matter now, Xena. What matters is that you're back."

Xena smiled as she pulled Gabrielle's hand from her face and then turned it over so she could place a kiss on her wrist. "Do you forgive me, Gabrielle?"

That took the small blond by surprise. She blinked several times before asking, "Forgive you for what?"

"Choosing the way I did, choosing to stay away from you instead of…"

Gabrielle reached up and placed a finger over Xena's lips. "I'll admit I was angry and hurt, but under it all I knew you made the right choice, the selfless one. I'm proud of you, Xena."

Icy crystal blue eyes shimmered with unshed tears as Xena looked from Gabrielle's face to her belly and back. The cut had been deep enough to need stitched with thread, but it wasn't deep enough to harm the baby. Xena reached out and placed her hand on her lover's growing stomach and smiled. "This was the last thing I'd ever have imagined coming back too. Our child, Gabrielle. A part of you and a part of me, and I nearly missed out on it."

"But you haven't." Gabrielle said as she put her hand over Xena's. "You're here with us now and this is going to be different, Xena, I know it will be. I can't explain it, but this child's different, this child won't suffer the way the others have."

"We thought that with Eve." Xena said softly.

Gabrielle nodded and then looked towards the palace. Eve had been shocked to find her mother alive when she and Cera had arrived, almost as shocked as Cera was over finding out who her real mother was. Both young women were dealing with their mother issues together and it made Gabrielle smile. "She's a good person, Xena. We weren't wrong about her, we just didn't foresee missing out on her childhood."

"I promise I'll do everything in my power to make sure we have with this child what we missed with all the others, Gabrielle." Xena said softly as she looked up. In the distance she watched as Isadora and Aella walked along the beach.

The smaller woman turned to see what Xena was looking at and sighed. "Do you think they'll be ok?"

"I think they have a lot to work through but that the strongest power in all the world is true love." Xena answered. She reached out and took Gabrielle's hand and smiled. "Seems to keep working for us."

Gabrielle smiled. "Yeah, it does."

Xena leaned in and kissed Gabrielle with such fire and passion that the smaller woman moaned. As she pulled Gabrielle closer Xena was more sure then ever that they were meant to be, and that their love was a forever and always thing. Gabrielle had told her about what Aphrodite had done and how she'd been given a clean slate. She'd washed up on a random shore and had been settling into a life at Isadora's side, she'd nearly had an entire kingdom laid at her feet. And yet, she still found her way to Gabrielle. She had found her heart and soul when she didn't even know she'd been looking for it. Then again, hadn't that been how she'd found it in the first place? It truly was their destiny to always be together.

"Gabrielle," Xena said softly when they pulled apart.

"hmm?" Gabrielle replied, her voice thick when need and desire.

Xena smirked that trademark smirk as she caressed her lover's cheek. "I want my chakram back."


	20. Chapter 20

Epilogue

The cool autumn breeze blew in through the window and caused goose bumps on the skin of the woman laying on the side of the bed closest to the window. It was an odd feeling on top of the warmth from the morning sun and it made Aella moan. Isadora laughed. It had been the most difficult months either woman could remember, but they were finally starting to get to a good place.

"It's morning." Isadora said brightly as she ran her fingers down Aella's arm.

Aella moaned again, and Isadora laughed.

Cera knocked on the door and then let herself in. She smiled brightly at her mothers as she waved a scroll at them. "It's a letter from Gabrielle and Xena."

Isadora sat up and smiled at her daughter, her heart filling with love each time she set eyes on the young woman. "What's it say child?"

"Gabrielle's had the baby!" Cera replied as she flopped down on her mother's bed. She handing her mother the scroll while her other mother moaned in protest at having to get up.

"What was it?" Aella asked.

Isadora smiled brightly. "It was a girl; a daughter."

"Adora," Cera said cheerfully. "Her name's Adroa."

THE END

For Now

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Thanks to everyone for reading and thanks to those who reviewed. :) I hope you all enjoyed this as much I enjoyed writting it. It was my first go at writing Xena and I can say that down the line there could very well be more. :) After all, we have little Adora to introduce :)


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